


Transition

by Zethsaire



Category: Young Avengers
Genre: Aliens, Cage Fights, Domestic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gangs, Homophobic Language, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Noh-Varr is in a gang, Other, Romance, Slice of Life, Trans Male Character, Transphobia, ftm!Tommy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-07
Updated: 2014-01-14
Packaged: 2017-11-24 00:34:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 40,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/628266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zethsaire/pseuds/Zethsaire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of short fics about Tommy as a trans man and his relationship with Noh-varr, and how he deals with being trans in both the world and the superhero community.  Set 2-2.5 years after Children's Crusade.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In case you didn't read the description or the tags, this is a fic that deals with a central trans character. I'm going through/figuring out a transition of my own, so writing about what Tommy would go through really helps me. Plus it's a relatively un-written about topic, which is always nice. I ship Tommy/Noh-varr hard core, so there's going to be lots of that, though there will be Billy/Teddy moments as the series goes on, and some Kate/Eli in the background.
> 
> Some universe notes: I made most everything about Noh-varr's past and the Kree up. There's really not much about the species available, and most of it is just little bits inserted in the comics to make it seem like the race is fleshed out. So there's lots of creative license there.
> 
> I'm also assuming 2.5 years in the future they will have fixed the House of M/no mutants thing, since Marvel's really only using that as a way to cut down on the ridiculous amount of characters and find a way to re-boot their series. So for the purposes of this story, mutants are back.
> 
> Story beta'd by DangerousCommieSubversive! Thanks!
> 
> Also a thanks to Billywick - her Tommy/Noh-varr fanfiction is why I started liking this pairing in the first place. So if you're here and haven't read her stuff, go check it out.

Chapter 1

Friday, May 1st, 2015

Tommy honestly hadn't thought he'd get into _Mystique_ on his first try. Actually, he hadn't thought he'd be able to get in at all. His fake ID proclaimed him to be over 21, but it only had about a 60% success rate at getting him into clubs or buying alcohol, just because he didn't look 21. _Mystique_ was popular, partly because it was the only club in New York that catered to aliens and mutants. In fact; if you weren't one or the other, you couldn't get in.

He'd stood in line for over an hour, and when he finally got to the door, the bouncer didn't even glance at his ID. The guy could have been Colossus' twin – huge and muscled and covered in some kind of bio-armor. He simply asked gruffly, “Mutation?”

Apparently the guy could tell Tommy wasn’t an alien. By smell, maybe? But that grossed him out, so he stopped thinking about it. He vibrated in place for a few seconds, fast enough to be little more than an imperceptible blur before settling down again. The bartender nodded, and let him go in.

The club had at least three floors – the main floor was a rave, with the style of music changing on a rotating schedule that was posted on the club's website. It wasn't always Earth music, but many aliens who lived here enjoyed the 'exotic' sound of Earth music, apparently, so Tommy actually knew a lot of it.

The second floor was really more of a raised balcony in the huge, main room. This had the bars and the strippers, with different kinds on each side of the club. The club also hosted different nights for gay, lesbian, transgender and 'other' themes. Both mutants and aliens really needed the other gender classification, and that night was apparently quite popular, according to the website. Tonight was an open night, so there was a little of everything.

Tommy had heard rumors of a fight club in the sub-level, with open entry fighting once a month. Tonight wasn't an open night, but he could go down and watch the club’s hosted fighters, and bet money if he wanted. There was always a ridiculous line for the fights, and most of the message boards had people complaining about never being able to get in.

He'd really come to the club to get laid, but since he'd actually gotten in, he felt like he should at least spend a little time enjoying himself. Besides, there were tons of people here who were just as uncomfortable with their bodies as he was. If he enjoyed himself for a few hours, everyone would be a good deal more drunk, including himself, and then his chance of actually picking someone up would increase greatly.

He avoided the dance floor, expertly weaving himself swiftly through bodies the way only a speedster could. He headed for the second floor to get a drink, possibly find someone half-way interesting to talk to, and people watch until the fight started.

Tommy didn't bother with the normal drink counter. With his super high metabolism, it took a ridiculous amount of alcohol to actually get him intoxicated. Fortunately, this bar had enough patrons with equally high metabolisms that they offered stronger drinks, for not much more than the normal ones. He ended up with a tumbler with ice and a bright green drink inside. Tommy shrugged and tasted it. It burned pleasantly in his mouth, with a strong sour flavor with the bite of liquor behind it. Tommy smiled as he took another drink. Yes, this place was awesome.

He sat there at the bar for a half-hour, drinking slowly and enjoying himself. There was a wide variety of people here, and Tommy found most of them attractive. He checked out tits, asses and packages alike, and gave more than a passing glance to skin covered in scales or feathers or webbing, or hair made from tentacles. Tommy had enough experience with body dysphoria not to be physically off-put by much.

“Like the view?” A voice to his left asked.

He turned to see a tall, muscled man sitting on his left, drinking something neon blue. Apparently aliens really liked their brightly colored drinks. He had to do a double take, because the man had white hair like himself, and his first thought was that it was his uncle Pietro. It wasn’t, thank god. The man looked young enough, though he was dressed like one of the club staff – he had a suit and tie on, with gold cufflinks with the club's insignia on them. Unlike some of the other staff, he had no name tag. Probably a bouncer then. The man smiled at him with glittering dark eyes and perfect teeth.

“The view is awesome.” He said honestly. “And it's nice to go somewhere I can actually get drunk.”

“You half-Kree?” The stranger asked conversationally.

“Kree? Nope. Mutant.” Tommy sped forward, took the bouncer's drink, and sped back to his seat. He grinned and downed the rest of the guy's drink.

“Ah.” The guy didn't seem impressed.

Tommy frowned. Was the guy anti-mutant, in a mutant club? Or was it the drink thing. There hadn't even been that much left.

“So...I'm Tommy.” He said, trying to be friendly. Making enemies with the staff on his first time here was not his goal. “Are you half Kree? You know, cuz you share my amazing hair color.”

The guy smiled again. “Full Kree actually. You'll find you get mistaken for a Kree a lot in here. The white hair is kind of our thing. Some Kree have blue skin, but a lot of us have pink skin too.”

He seemed to be pondering something, and then stuck his hand out. “I'm Noh-varr. I'm one of the bouncers.” There was a strange expression on his face, like he expected Tommy to recognize him.

Tommy shook his hand. He didn't recognize the guy, though the name wiggled in the back of his head, like maybe he should know it. Huh. “Sorry, I don't recognize you. I've never been here before, did you used to bounce somewhere else?”

Noh-varr shook his head. He seemed much happier that Tommy didn't recognize him. How many white haired speedsters were there to confuse him with? Maybe he'd done something to piss of Tommy's uncle Pietro. Though Pietro was quite a bit older than him, they did look a lot alike. But Pietro was grumpier. And old. Well, the guy was an alien; maybe he had trouble telling humans apart.

“There's not much work for illegal aliens in this country.” He smiled, “Though if I dyed my hair and got a fake ID I suppose I might get a job somewhere. But I'd rather work somewhere that I don't have to be ashamed of what I am.”

“Yeah...tell me about it.” Tommy knew _exactly_ how that was. Too bad being a super hero didn't come with a paycheck.

“So.” The bouncer smirked, “Who was the bouncer that let you in? Because there's no way you're 21.”

Tommy just handed him his ID wordlessly. It was good – he knew it was, because Billy had lost a bet and had to magic Tommy one. So really, it was a perfect ID, except for the fact that he didn't look 21.

Noh-varr looked it over for a minute and grinned before handing it back. “Yeah, whatever. I know that's fake. But it's really good. You know a mage or something?”

Tommy just downed his drink in response.

“Yeah, yeah. Don't tell the bouncer, he might kick you out. No one here really cares, you know. You're a mutant, so you're welcome. We take care of our own. But since you've got such a nice ID, you can come downstairs and watch the fight, if you want. I'm competing in about 45 minutes.”

“Don't I have to be on the list for that?”

Noh-varr smirked. “You will be.” Turning to the bartender, he said, “Hey, Rocky, give me a Spike, yeah?”

Rocky brought Noh-varr a shot glass filed with a black, iridescent liquid. “Raquel said you need to cut back on these.”

Noh-varr took it and downed it quickly. He grimaces and coughed before slamming it back down on the bar. “I'll cut back when she stops having me fight six days a week. You tell her that.”

“Hey, I gotta get ready. See you later Tommy.” Noh-varr flashed him another killer smile, and headed away from the bar, towards the sub-basement.

“Hey, Kid, you want another drink? Noh-varr picked up your tab.”

“He what?” Tommy just stared at the bartender. He'd planned on finding someone good looking, talk, flirt, maybe buy them a drink. He hadn't even thought about someone doing that to him. Was Noh-varr trying to pick him up?

“Uh...yeah. Surprise me.”

This time he got a bright red drink. The bartender gave it to him and said, “You should go down to the pit soon so you can get a good spot. Noh-varr's fights are always good. And he doesn't usually invite strangers to come watch him.”

“Really? I'd think he'd do that for all the girls.”

Rocky smirked. “If you were a girl, he wouldn't have bought your drink.”

So apparently Noh-varr was gay, at least when it came to humans. Good to know. That didn't immediately disqualify him though. Obviously the Kree thought he was hot, or he wouldn't have hit on him. He finished his drink and decided to go watch the fight. Even if it didn't lead to anything between he and Noh-varr, it was bound to be entertaining. And he could always pick up someone else if the Kree turned out not to be interested. There were lots of people to choose from, after all.

He headed towards the sub basement, where there was a long line of people waiting to try and get in. There was also a short VIP line where a woman in a slinky black dress and bright red lipstick was checking people in. Noh-varr said his name would be on the list so...He went over to the VIP line and casually pulled out his ID. “Tommy Shepherd. Noh-varr said he'd put me down.”

The woman at the podium smiled. “Yes, he'd mentioned you'd be coming. The house odds for Noh-varr tonight are 2:1. Would you like to place a bet?”

Upon his hesitant look, she smiled. “Noh-varr told me to give this to you, and then for me to suggest you bet it all on him. He seems very taken with you.”

She handed him a five hundred dollar bill. He didn't even know they _made_ those. He stared at it for a few moments before handing it back with a nod. “Yeah. Um. All on Noh-varr.”

She smiled. “There's a place for you at the pit. It's got your name on it. Enjoy your evening.”

He thanked her, and headed downstairs. At this point, Tommy didn't know what to think. He didn't want to be treated like a girl, but Noh-varr's actions hadn't really come across that way. At least, no one else seemed to think it was odd. Of course, who knew what Noh-varr considered normal, being Kree. He'd at least gotten human seduction tactics down. As long as there weren't flowers or chocolates waiting for him.

There weren't, but someone did come and bring him a stiff drink. He had a spot to stand right at the edge of the pit, where he could see the fighters warming up. The alcohol was finally working, despite his high metabolism, and he was feeling more than pleasantly buzzed.

The pit was set about thirty feet into the ground and was about thirty five to forty feet in diameter. There were telekenitics along the edge who's job was probably to keep anything from hurting the spectators. He looked down into the pit to see Noh-varr stretching. The Kree had changed into a pair of loose gray sweatpants with a green stripe running down the side, and nothing else. His hands and feet were wrapped for support – he wasn't wearing shoes.

His opponent was a Skrull, who was also warming up. Or showing off, whichever term you preferred. The Skrull wasn't a super Skrull, he was only displaying the ability to use two of the four Skrull powers, but he had both the rock-skin and the fire manipulation, possibly the two most deadly for combat purposes, at least in an enclosed space like the Pit.

It was almost time for the match to start,and the space was quickly filling with people, all trying to get a good look. There were risers to sit on as well, but Tommy was glad of his place at the railing – he wanted to feel the metal under his hands, smell the pit, hear the sounds of the combatants. It wasn't a good as fighting himself, but it was damn awesome.

The horn sounded and the two combatants circled each other. The Skrull grew until he was at the size Teddy usually Hulked out to. Noh-varr went into a defensive crouch as the Skrull's arms ignited themselves. He dodged the two streams of flame the Skrull threw with an acrobatic leap to the side, landing only to dodge a vicious, rock covered punch. This time Noh-varr lept straight up into the air and landed on the side of the Pit, where his feet stuck to the side.

The Skrull snarled, and sprouted wings, then launched itself into the air. Noh-varr was running alongside the Pit now, not as fast as Tommy, but faster than the Skrull could fly. He spun around and around, making the Skrull snarl in frustrations. The Skrull focused all his fire on one section of the wall, covering it floor to ceiling in flames. Noh-varr launched himself off the wall and straight towards the Skrull's head. On the defensive now, the Skrull's body turned to stone. Noh-varr latched onto him like a cat, all ten fingers digging into the stone.

The Skrull brought up his flaming hands, and just like that, Noh-varr vaulted off his head into a somersault and landed gracefully on his feet. He snapped his fingers, and the Skrull exploded. Rock shattered, showering pieces of rubble against the telekinetic shield. The Skrull fell from the sky with a thud. When the smoke cleared, Tommy could see the Skrull on the ground, wings gone, looking dazed and close to unconsciousness. Noh-varr had his foot on the Skrull's neck – if this had been a real fight, Noh-varr would have already crushed the Skrull's throat. That made a memory itch at the back of Tommy's mind, but he ignored it.

The fight was over, Noh-varr had won.

Tommy let out a yell at his victory, his voice drowning in the uproar of the club. Apparently the Skrull was another club favorite, and there had been a lot of money riding on tonight's outcome. Tommy couldn't give a shit about he money – Noh-varr, that incredibly powerful, sexy alien that had just mopped the floor with an incredibly experienced Skrull Warrior, liked _him_. He wanted to fuck the Kree's brains out. His body concerns were pushed to the back of his head; he wanted to see Noh-varr, congratulate him, and see if he could get the Kree to take him home. He didn't even know when Noh-varr's shift ended. Fuck, he didn't even know where to find the Kree. It was a veritable mob in here, there was no way Noh-varr would come out here.

“'Scuse me, Tommy?” A mutant with brilliant purple hair and fairy wings tapped him on the shoulder. “Noh-varr wants to meet you in the fighter's lounge, if you'd like.”

Hell yes he'd like. But he just nodded, and followed the girl out of the crowd and over to a room with a guard in front and blinds darkening the windows.

“Let him in Karl. Noh-varr wants to see him.”

The hulking red-sinned man opened the door, and Tommy slipped inside. It was more like a locker room than a lounge, with benches and shower stalls, and sleek lockers against one wall. There was also a wide range of exercise equipment and stretching mats.

Noh-varr had clearly just gotten out of the shower. He had a towel around his neck, and nothing else. Tommy very carefully did not stare at his package, even though it was obvious from the smug grin that Noh-varr expected him to.

“I just asked the boss and she said I can take off if I want.” He said conversationally as he opened a locker and pulled on some clothes – a black ribbed shirt and jeans. “You want to go somewhere?”

Tommy swallowed. He couldn't decide if Noh-varr looked better in clothes or out of them. Those jeans hugged him in all the right places. “Where did you want to go?”

“Well...I'm going out on a limb here and saying you probably don't want to take me back to your place.”

Tommy flushed. Wouldn't Mrs. Kaplan love that.

“And my apartment is shit, so I thought we'd got to a hotel. There's a good one near here. Raquel owns it – it's basically an extension of the club. We wouldn't have to pay.”

Now Tommy felt indignant. “I'm not going to let you pay for everything.”

Noh-varr smirked. “You can pay for room service then.”

“Yeah. Alright.” Shit, that was fast. They were going to a hotel, just like that. He'd wanted to have the transgender conversation first. But he was an alien so...maybe Noh-varr wouldn't mind.

Noh-varr got their coats on the way out, and slipped an envelope into one of Tommy's pockets. “Your winnings.” He explained, and Tommy noticed that he tucked a much larger envelope into this own pockets. So apparently Noh-varr was loaded. He was good about it though – didn't make Tommy feel guilty or inferior, which was nice.

The hotel was only a few blocks away, and Noh-varr walked in with confidence. He winked at Tommy and went to the front desk. The clerk seemed flustered to see him, and handed him a room key within seconds, babbling something Tommy didn't quite catch.

Noh-varr grinned, and took him to the elevator, where he typed in some kind of code on a panel underneath the floor selection. They got off on the top floor, where there were only two suites. Noh-varr led Tommy over to one, and opened it with his key card. Tommy was starting to suspect he was more than just a bouncer. He didn't have time to look around their suite, because as soon as the door was clothed, Noh-varr practically lept on Tommy. He slid his hands up Tommy's shirt and started kissing him. Tommy melted onto those lips and talented alien tongue, like he needed Noh-varr's mouth to survive.

“Wait, wait.” Tommy gasped, pulling himself away. “We need to – I wanted to tell you before – uh. I'm trans.”

Noh-varr looked at him for a moment, but didn’t pull away. “I'm sorry. I don't really know what that means.”

Alien. Right. You'd think he'd have run into this by now. “Um...it means I wasn't born biologically male.”

“Oh.” Noh-varr said. Then, “I'm sorry. Again. I don't know how that works for humans. Can you still fuck me or...?”

Tommy thought he was seriously gong to lose his shit. Noh-varr was taking this _really_ well. Disturbingly well. He was more than a little afraid of what the Kree thought constituted normal sex now. Were they gonna have to do some weird, kinky alien thing?

“Um...yeah. Yeah, I brought my strap-on and condoms and lube and everything.”

“Perfect.” Noh-varr slid his hands back up Tommy's shirt. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Tommy's neck, like nothing had ever happened.

“Wait! Fuck!” Tommy grabbed Noh-varr's shoulders and pushed him away.

“What?”

“Shouldn't you be freaking about about this?” He demanded.

“Why? Oh. You humans are still awkward about gender. I keep forgetting that. Tommy, if you feel male, then you are, in my opinion. That's how it is with my people. Of course, we have a lot more advanced methods for adjusting biological gender than your people, but the concept is the same.” He explained this gently, as if he was afraid he was going to spook Tommy.

“Besides,” Noh-varr said huskily, leaning in again. “You _smell_ male. You _taste_ male.” He captured Tommy's lips in another hungry kiss. “So what's the problem?”

There really wasn't one.

~~~

Tommy lay on the bed, after, tangled up in sheets and Noh-varr's legs. “That was...fuck. That was good.”

Noh-varr grunted in agreement and pulled Tommy into his arms. Tommy pressed up against his sweaty chest, but he didn't mind. They'd just had the best sex Tommy'd ever had, so he couldn't complain. Noh-varr was still mumbling at him in Kree – that was a thing he did after orgasming, apparently.

“You're going to have to teach me Kree if we're going to keep doing this.” He said. “I don't understand what you're saying.”

Noh-varr rumbled happily, and ran his fingers through Tommy's hair. Half-way through his sentence, he switch back to English, “ - going to stay with me?”

“What?”

“I'm going to sleep. I've got to work early tomorrow. Well. Today.” Noh-varr chuckled. It was nearly six in the morning. “Do you want to stay with me?”

“I-” He did. He really did. But it was Saturday, and that meant everyone was home. While there wasn’t a huge chance that anyone would check to see if he was in bed, he didn't want to risk it.

“I have to go.” He said. “I'm gonna take a quick shower, then I gotta go.”

“Mmhm...” The Kree said sleepily.

Tommy got up and stretched lazily. Sex was never better than when he got to use his powers during it. Not many people wanted to, even when they were other mutants, and even fewer could handle it when he did. Noh-varr was amazing. They were definitely going to do this again.

“I put my number in your phone.” The Kree said, from where his head was buried in the pillows. “Call me sometime.”

“Definitely.”

Tommy had finally located all his clothes and headed to the bathroom to shower. There was a large jacuzzi in the bathroom, and he was tempted to use it. Next time. For sure.

He set his clothes down and turned on the shower. The hot water came on and filled the room with steam. Just as he was about to get in, a hand touched his elbow. He turned to see Noh-varr standing there, grinning.

“Room for one more?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very new to the FTM community. I've done extensive research, but since I'm currently pre-everything, if you notice any mistakes or misconceptions, please feel free to let me know. Same with the Marvel stuff. It's difficult to follow at best, since all the comic plot lines cris-cross and often contradict each other. So if I make some grotesque fandom error, feel free to correct me!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some more profane language in this chapter, just in case that bothers anyone. Of course there's profane language in all my fics, but this one's a bit heavier.
> 
> I also dig a little on the Avengers in this chapter. Now, I've read some great Avengers fanfics, but, at least in the YA comics, the Avengers are all kind of dicks. I also read a lot of the "Civil War" comics, and they were kind of dicks there too. So...yeah. I don't really have all that high opinion of them. They're awesome, and they kick butt, but that doesn't make them good _people._ If Loki had done half of what the Avengers had done, they'd be putting him to death. But, you know, since Tony Stark is such a _swell_ guy, it's okay. But I digress.
> 
> Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Wednesday, June 10th, 2015

Things between he and Tommy were going really well. They'd met up several times for casual sex before Noh-varr had asked Tommy out on a more traditional date. That had quickly turned into a regular thing when he had a day off – always involving dinner, and then either sports, movies, video games or making out, and sometimes more then one of those activities. They met up on days he had to work, too, after Tommy's school let out and before Noh-var had to work. Right now, they were in the park, on a bench, exploring the limits of making out in public without getting yelled at by elderly women.

“Hey, where you goin?” Noh-varr asked, when Tommy pulled away.

“Well...we _are_ scandalizing everyone in the park.” Tommy teased. “I mean, we're both dudes, and you look like an old guy.”

Noh-varr smirked, and refused to be offended, squeezing Tommy's thigh where his hand lay, about half-way between his knee and his crotch. “But you _like_ scandalizing the general public. And may I remind you that your hair is just as white as mine. We probably both look like old dudes.”

“Ugh. Oh man. That's gross.” Tommy made a face, and scooted to the other end of the bench. Then he turned serious again. “I gotta go Noh-varr. 'M gonna be late.”

“You're never late for _anything_. “ Noh-varr scoffed. “You run faster than sound.”

“But you're distracting. And I need to go. Really, I do.” Tommy insisted.

“Where? You always take off on Wednesdays around this time. Where are you going to?” He wasn't going to bring it up, but Tommy just led him into the perfect moment to discuss it.

“I...” Tommy looked away in shame.

It couldn't be _that_ bad, could it? They'd only been seeing each other for a little over a month, so Noh-varr didn't expect to be privy to Tommy's every secret, but the thought that the mutant wouldn't even want to say what was bothering him sent a chill through Noh-varr. He covered by joking, “Tommy, I've seen your sex toy collection. What could _possibly_ be more embarrassing than that?”

“Hey!” Tommy protested. But he smiled.

“I um...well, I have to go to therapy.” He admitted, once Noh-varr stopped laughing.

He wasn't expecting that. “Therapy?” Kree didn't believe in therapy, at least, not in the same way that humans did. Was Tommy broken?

“Yeah...I have to go once a week for transgender therapy. It's one of the provisions of my release.” Tommy said.

At Noh-varr's painfully confused look, he explained further. “I was in juvie for blowing up my school. The Young Avengers got me out. When the Avengers found out I'd been...released into the wild, they stepped in. Cap and Tony are the only ones who know I'm...who know my birth gender. And Miss Potts, probably, Tony's hopeless without her. She was on my side, and got Tony to call up his lawyers and make a case for my sentence to be annulled. I was technically a fugitive at the time. But to be presenting as a guy in the superhero community, well, they made provisions.”

“Provisions.” Noh-varr said flatly. His tone was angry, bordering on furious, but he couldn't keep it civil.

“I didn't have to finish my sentence, I got a small settlement, and my record was expunged. The official records in the Avengers database show I'm male still. But I had to testify against the facility, and provide evidence. For a while I had to log my superhero hours as community service, I had to go back to school, and I had to go to therapy once a week.”

“Just for...just because they were uncomfortable that you didn't conform to your biological gender?” Noh-varr snarled. Tommy winced and looked around, sure someone had heard.

“It...it wasn't like that. They didn't tell anyone.” Tommy protested.

“Why aren't you mad about this? They treated you like...like a laboratory experiment for fuck's sake. Documenting evidence? Required therapy? We won't tell your big bad secret if we do this? How very Tony Stark of them. Those self-righteous _cunts_!”

Tommy flinched. Noh-varr hadn't ever used that word before. Not that Tommy was a stranger to profanity, but apparently he hadn't been expecting those particular words out of Noh-varr's mouth.

“But-”

“Did they offer to _help_ you? Help change your gender permanently? Because I have _seen_ Stark's lab, and if any human can do it, he can. Did Miss Potts help you file the paperwork to emancipate you as an adult and legally change your gender? Did _Captain America_ do anything besides be flustered, old fashioned, and extremely uncomfortable?”

Tommy looked away. “No.”

“No!” Noh-varr snarled. “They're all _useless_. That's why I left – I wasn't human, white, or rich, so I didn't fit in to their fucking club. Fucking _assholes_.”

Tommy didn't look like he agreed with Noh-varr, he looked pissed. “I was happy, okay?” He snapped. “Happy that someone accepted it, helped me screw over those fuckers who locked me up, who actually kept my secret instead of laughing or freaking out or trying to beat the shit out of me. And my therapist is _wonderful_. Anelle is amazing, and she puts up with my shit, and I'mreallyfuckinglatenowandIhateyou.”

“Tommy-Tommy wait, I'm sorry!”

But Tommy was already gone.

“Fuck.”

~~~

Tommy didn't speak to him for three days, studiously ignoring his texts and calls. Noh-varr thought about tracking him down by scent, but decided that would just be creepy. Besides, he knew where Tommy went to school, if he really wanted to show up in person. Finally, on Sunday, Tommy called him. Noh-varr answered immediately, even though he was at work, grabbing the nearest staff member to take his place at the door while he went outside for limited privacy.

“My therapistismadatme.” Tommy told him.

“What?”

“Anelle. She knows I've been getting T shots somewhere, obviously, but won't tell her where. She hasn't pushed much before, but she really got on my case about it this week. Something about a news article about a contaminated batch of black market T making some kids really sick, or something. She wouldn't shut up about it. So now I have a permission slip I'm supposed to have Mrs. Kaplan sign to authorize the clinic to administer my shots.”

Noh-varr waited, certain there was more of a problem here.

“Mrs. Kaplan doesn't even know I _go_ to therapy.”

“Oh.” Noh-varr said, because what else could he say? “That sucks.”

“Yeah. It does. So now I've got two days to find a way to forge her signature, and I can't tell Billy because he doesn't know either and I'mstillmadatyoubutthissuckssobadIjustwantocomeseeyou.”

“I'm at work...” He said softly. “But you can meet me after. We can go get breakfast and talk, or not talk. Or you can come to my place – whatever you want.”

“Yeah. That sounds good. Thanks.”

“See you then.”

The rest of his shift was hell. He kept thinking about Tommy, and how he could help him. He knew he could get Tommy clean T, he had plenty of friends in the black market. But that wouldn't make Tommy's therapist happy, and Tommy hated it when he bought him too many expensive things in a row.

He was so distracted, in fact, that he got his nose broken during his scheduled fight. It was embarrassing, because it wasn’t that big of a fight, and he had to suffer through Raquel's yelling and the doctor griping at him, not to mention he bled all over his clothes.

By the time Tommy came to meet him outside the club, his whole face was a massive black and purple bruise, and he had two paper twists stuck up his nose to stop the bleeding, and hat to breathe through his mouth. Tommy still let him kiss him though.

“What happened to your face?” Tommy asked, when they parted.

“Got sloppy, broke my nose.” Noh-varr said with a grimace. His accent, which was usually pretty unnoticeable, was thick now. He hated it - it made him feel old and foreign.

“That sucks. I've broken my nose before. Only takes me about a day to heal though.”

“Same.” Noh-varr agreed. “If I sleep enough.”

“So...you wanna get some food? There's this really great breakfast place down on 29th street.” Tommy was always hungry. Even with a mutation that helped his body regulate his calories for optimum consumption, he still burned at least 6,000 calories a day.

“Sure. You want to run?” Noh-varr asked. He knew Tommy wouldn't want to take public transit, or a taxi.

“Yeah. I'll even go slow for you.” Tommy smiled. With a top speed of 150mph, Noh-varr was faster than most anyone. Except, of course, Tommy.

“Letsgothen!” Tommy sped off.

Noh-varr chuckled. Tommy would probably run there, make their reservation, and come back to meet him. Noh-varr was tired, but Tommy was worth it. He took off as well, racing towards 29th street, trusting Tommy to come back and show him where it was.

He did, and it took them less than five minutes to arrive, though Tommy could have done it in thirty seconds or so. Noh-varr followed Tommy to their table, proud of himself for only being a little winded, even after such a long day. There was a pot of coffee and two mugs waiting for them. Tommy poured them both a cup and put sugar and cream in his.

“Thanks.” Noh-varr said tiredly.

“I ordered for you too. Hope you're hungry.”

“If I'm not, I'm sure you'll eat it.”

“True.”

It didn’t take long for their food to arrive. Noh-varr wasn’t surprised that Tommy had picked a place with both good food and speedy service. He was terribly impatient at the best of times.

The food was good. Noh-varr was convinced Tommy had ordered one of everything. He was persuaded to try french toast, eggs in three different styles, pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and no less than six different kinds of crepes. It was all delicious, and between he and Tommy they managed to finish it all . The waitress didn't even seem too shocked, apparently Tommy had come here more than once.

“When there's more than one waitress, they fight over me.” Tommy said smugly.

“I can't imagine why, we only racked up a two or three hundred dollar bill.” Noh-varr chuckled.

“I always give a good tip, cuz they don't stare here, even though it's pretty obvious I'm not human.”

“Maybe they think you're a sexy alien like me.” Noh-varr snickered.

“Don't take this the wrong way,” Tommy said wryly, “But most humans still don't believe in aliens.”

Noh-varr was shocked. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Tommy smiled, and poured him another cup of coffee. Then his smile faded, and he pulled two folded papers out of his pocket with a sign. He unfolded them and set them in front of Noh-varr. He pulled out a pen and handed it to him.

“Could you...I mean, you have mad alien skills, right? Can you sign this?”

Noh-varr looked down at the table. On the right was a permission slip from the 2nd St. Rainbow Community Center, asking for permission to authorize Tommy's T shots, and cover the clinic’s cost. On the left was a photocopied signature.

“Did you photocopy her driver's license?” Noh-varr asked.

“Does it matter? Look, can you sign it or not?”

“Of course I can.” He lifted the pen and held it above Mrs. Kaplan's signature, tracing the movement of the lines, his eyes gauging depth and pressure. He set his pen down on the blank paper underneath, and penned an approximation. Then he studied the two, noted the difference, and tried again. He squinted, and made one last mark.

“What do you think?” He asked, and spun it towards Tommy.

“Damn. That's kinda scary.”

“Good thing Raquel keep aliens in line then huh? Or we'd steal all your pathetic Earth money.” He snickered.

He took the permissions slip and quickly penned a perfect copy of Mrs. Kaplan's signature onto the blank provided, followed by the date in a believable flowery script.

“It says you need to pay up front.” Noh-varr said. “Do you need me to get it?”

Tommy looked away. “I've got a little left.”

“You know I don't mind.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Who else am I going to spend my ridiculous paycheck on? Have you _seen_ how much I make at my fights?”

Tommy smiled. “It is pretty disgusting. I'm going to pay for breakfast though.”

“Hmm...I am an excellent boyfriend. I deserve to be taken out for breakfast.”

“You do.” Tommy agreed. He pulled out a fifty dollar bill from his wallet and left it on the table as a tip, then headed for the register to pay.

Noh-varr finished his coffee, and got up as well. He fought the urge to eat their napkins and sugar packets. He knew consciously that it was socially inappropriate, but it bothered him to leave perfectly good food out to be thrown away. It was a problem he had every time he went out.

“Hey,” Tommy said, as they exited the restaurant. “Do you mind if I come to your place an sleep with you? I stayed up all night, and we don't have any important shit going on at school today anyway.”

“If I say yes, does that make me a bad influence on you?” Noh-varr asked. He knew Tommy wasn't very invested in his summer school program. He was probably only taking it to fulfill the Avengers 'requirements' for him. Noh-varr suppressed the anger he felt at that, and waited for Tommy's answer.

“No. It makes _me_ a bad influence on you.”

“Well, I already knew that. Come then, let's go.”

“It's 'C'mon.” Tommy teased.

“Right.”

A short run, and two rounds of mind blowing sex later, they were both naked, Tommy leaning against Noh-varr's chest with his arm behind him, hand tangled in Noh-varr's hair. Noh-varr had his arms around Tommy's waist, his cheek against Tommy's head. It seemed, for the moment, that they were okay again. That was enough for Noh-varr to be happy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changed the fic rating from "mature" to "explicit" because this chapter and future chapters contain graphic sex scenes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains a graphic sex scene with a trans male character. If that makes you uncomfortable, you can read the first half of the chapter and skip the ending. The sex scene is pretty obvious, and can be skipped, if you want.
> 
> Note about age of consent: Tommy is still under 18. However, in the US age of consent varies by state, though the technical age of liberation of a child from their guardian is 18. In New York, and teen over 17 may have sex with anyone else over 17 without their guardians being able to charge the other person with rape. Therefore, even though Tommy is 17 and having sex, it's perfectly legal for all parties involved.
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: Language, explicit sex, sex with a trans character, body dysphoria. Self-beta'd.

Chapter 3  


Saturday, June 13th, 2015

  
    “Everyone's asleep, you just gotta be quiet, okay?”  Tommy whispered hoarsely.  Not that it looked like that was going to be difficult.  Noh-varr was practically sleeping on his feet.

    “Mmh.”  He agreed.

    Tommy kept a firm grip on his boyfriend's arm and vibrated them through the door.  Billy always got nauseous when he did that to him, but Noh-varr never seemed to mind.  He pulled Noh-varr up the stairs and into the guest bathroom.  He only had about an hour before the people would start potentially getting up, even on a Saturday.  He helped Noh-varr undress and shoved him in the shower.  When the Kree just stood there under the spray, Tommy sighed.  Well, it'd make him smell better anyways.

    He tore into Teddy and Billy's room, stealing a pair of sweats for Noh-varr to sleep in and getting out before either Billy or Teddy woke.  He went back to the bathroom and poked Noh-varr in the side until he jolted awake.  The Kree made a pained sound, but soaped himself and shampooed his hair, then rinsed off.  He stumbled out of the shower and just stood there while Tommy toweled him off.  He gave Noh-varr Teddy's sweats, which the Kree pulled on with a grimace.

    He followed after Tommy, not very quietly, obviously exhausted.  He collapsed heavily on Tommy's bed without moving the covers, so Tommy had to tug them out from underneath him in order to get into bed.  Then he pulled the blankets back up over them both.

    Tommy had planned on leaving his binder on – he usually wore it to bed in case Teddy blundered in, or the twins came in and jumped up and down on his bed.  All his binders were sleeveless shirt style, so it didn't even look weird that he was wearing them.  But Noh-varr reached over tiredly, without pushing his face up out of the pillow, and slid his fingers up under Tommy's t-shirt, his fingers scrabbling uselessly against the binder.

    “You want that off?”  Tommy smiled.

    “Mmhm.”

    “Only for you.”  He said, and unclasped his binder, tossing it in the direction of his clothes hamper.  He snuggled up against Noh-varr's side, pressed against him, he didn't feel so self-conscious about his chest.  It was weird.  Being with Noh-varr made him feel more manly instead of less.  He slid his arm around Noh-varr's waist, and tucked his hand under the waist band of Noh-varr's borrowed sweats.  Noh-varr made a happy noise, and nuzzled his face into Tommy's hair.  He was deeply asleep within minutes.  Tommy smiled, and fell asleep again.

~~~

    “Hey, Noh, wake up.”  Tommy shook him softly.  “It's already 3 in the afternoon.”

    “Uh?”  Noh-varr woke with a start, raising tired eyes up off Tommy's pillow.  There was drool on it.

    “Teddy and Billy are out, having some disgusting romantic date or something.  Mr. and Mrs. Kaplan took the twins out somewhere too, so we've got the house to ourselves for now.  We should probably go before they get back.”

    “Probably.”  Noh-varr agreed, leaning over for a slow kiss.  

    Noh-varr initiated the contact, but once their tongues met, he let Tommy take over, not minding in the slightest when Tommy dominated his mouth.  Noh-varr, for all his height and muscles, preferred to be dominated sexually.  Tommy didn't know if that was how he was with females, but Noh-varr loved having Tommy on top of him.

    Tommy obliged him by climbing on top of him and straddling Noh-varr's hips.  Noh-varr groaned underneath him and kissed him more willingly.  He put his hands on  Tommy's hips, grinding up into him.  Tommy traced Noh-varr's muscles with his hands while he fucked Noh-varr with his tongue.  He pushed his pelvis down and rubbed himself against Noh-varr's growing erection, which earned him a moan of appreciation from the Kree.

    “I want to fuck you.”  Tommy said huskily into his ear.  “I don't have my strap-on here, but I can fuck you with my fingers.  Would you like that?”

    “Yes.  Fuck yes.  Fuck me!” The Kree gasped.

    Tommy chuckled darkly.  “Beg me.”  He loved making the Kree deteriorate into a writhing mass of want.

    He stopped kissing Noh-varr and moved to his neck, tongue circling around the spot on the Kree's neck that drove him wild.

    “Please Tommy.  Fuck me.  Put your fingers in me and fuck me.”  Noh-varr gasped as Tommy bit down on that spot on his neck.  Tommy felt his cock pulse through the thin material of his borrowed sweats.  Noh-varr's grip relaxed on his hips, and he twisted up into Tommy's pelvis, begging for attention.

    “Did I say you could stop?”  He licked his way down Noh-varr's chest.

    “Uhn...Please fuck me.  Fuck me so hard I can't walk straight.  I want you in me so bad Tommy.”  Noh-varr made a sound somewhere between a groan and a growl when Tommy jerked his sweats down and freed the Kree's cock.  He rubbed himself against Tommy's pelvis, grinding urgently for friction.

    “Please Tommy, fuck me!”

    Tommy smiled and reached for the lube he kept under his mattress.  This was about the time Noh-varr lost control of his English and started babbling incomprehensible things in Kree.  He'd had Plex translate a few of his sentences once, and found out that Noh-varr said absolutely filthy things in his native language.  Noh-varr was still pleading and groaning, but as soon as Tommy reached between his legs with a lubed finger, his words slurred from regular English sounds and into the alien sound of Kree.  Tommy knew a few words himself, but it was hard to create the hissing, guttural tones of Kree with a human tongue.  Noh-varr said he had a terrible accent.

    He could make out 'fuck me,' and his own name; Tom-my, so he knew that he was still pleasing his lover.  Of course, the way Noh-varr bucked and moaned when Tommy curled his finger and rubbed his prostate was a pretty good indication.  Noh-varr said it wasn't the same as a human's prostate, but it still caused Noh-varr immense pleasure when he fucked him, and that was good enough for Tommy.

    Tommy slipped in another finger and moved his right hand, which had been resting on Noh-varr's hip, down to rub his cock encouragingly.  Noh-varr started swearing in Kree, and drove himself down onto Tommy's fingers, moaning his name over and over.

    “I love it when you talk dirty to me.”  Tommy smiled and added a third finger, moaning himself at the sight of Noh-varr laid out in front of him.  Seeing his lover flushed and panting, his eyes dilated in lust, his hard cock pulsing with need in his hand, it all made Tommy want to come as well.

    Noh-varr was getting close now, Tommy could tell by the way his breathing had picked up and the way he was moaning in time to Tommy's thrusts.  Tommy worked his cock faster, which only made Noh-varr groan louder.  The Kree shuddered, his entire body tensing for release.

    “You wanna come for me?”

    Noh-varr babbled something incomprehensible, but also nodded, looking up at Tommy with lust in his eyes.

    “Then come for me.”  He hit Noh-varr's prostrate one more time, and the Kree came with a strangled scream, spilling his seed all over Tommy's fingers and his own stomach.  He melted underneath Tommy, breathing heavily, his eyes sliding closed in pleasure.

    It always took Noh-varr a few minutes to pull himself back together after an orgasm, so Tommy got up and went to the bathroom to wash up, and brought back a warm, damp towel to clean up the mess on Noh-varr's stomach.  Tommy cleaned off Noh-varr gently, while Noh-varr mumbled something sleepily at him in Kree.

    “I'm sure that's very nice, but you know I can't understand you.”

    Noh-varr cleared his throat and tried again.  “I asked you if you wanted me to make you come, too.”

    Tommy blushed.  “Aah...um...”  He wasn’t entirely comfortable with his lower anatomy on a good day, and Noh-varr being there just made it worse.  It was different when he had his strap on – it was custom fitted with a piece inside him that his his g-spot every time he thrust into Noh-varr.  It had a vibrator too.  It still wasn't the same as having a real cock, but it was a hell of a lot better than what he normally had to work with.

    “You know I don't care what parts you have.”  Noh-varr said gently.

    Tommy was certain that sounded much more suave before the Kree-English translation, but he knew what Noh-varr meant.  “I do.”

    “I'm very good at distracting you though.”  Noh-varr insisted, pulling Tommy forward onto his lap. One hand went up Tommy's shirt, tracing his back muscles with his fingers.  The other went to his thighs, where Noh-varr rubbed between them, making Tommy shudder.  The Kree went straight for his neck, one of Tommy's most sensitive places, and Tommy let out a groan of his own.  It really wouldn't take long.  Noh-varr was very – distracting.

    One of the downsides, and also one of the best benefits of his power was that certain stimulation could easily overwhelm him.  He processed things at a much faster speed than normal humans, so things like sexual stimulation had a way of completely swamping him in pleasure.  It made it almost impossible to think about anything, including how he felt about his body, while Noh-varr was pleasuring him.  Especially when he used everything he knew, and put hickeys on every single one of Tommy's hotspots.

    Once Tommy was sufficiently drowning in pleasure, enough not to protest, Noh-varr slipped his  hand inside Tommy's boxers.  He knew that he should protest, that he really didn't want to do this right now but – why didn't he want to do this again?  Noh-varr rubbed his clit and he gasped.  Why didn't he want this again?

    “You're so fucking hard.”  Noh-varr whispered in his ear.  “You get that hard fucking me?”

    “Uhn...yeah.”  Tommy heard himself whine.  It wasn't going to take long.  He was so fucking close – fucking Noh-varr always did that to him.  And then...Noh-varr's tongue was on his neck...and...uuuuhhhnngh...

    “You made me come pretty hard.  You gonna come for me too?”  Noh-varr asked him sinfully, sucking hard on the extremely sensitive spot between Tommy's neck and collarbone and stroking his erection at the same time.

    “F-uuuuuck!”  Tommy screamed, and came.  The world turned white.

    He came to in Noh-varr's arms.  “You – you're evil.”  He managed.

    “And you're sexy as hell.”  Noh-varr told him, kissing him on the lips softly.  “And we're a complete mess.  Want to take a shower with me before people get back?”

    “Yeah, that sounds good.”  And it really did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not far along enough in my transition to present as male, so personally, using my 'female' anatomy for sex doesn't bother me. I still experience severe body dysphoria at times, but it's hardly ever sex-related. But Tommy's been presenting for years, and he has serious issues with his bottom half. You'll find that his body dysphoria is a common theme in this fic.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Teddy is kind of a douche. Also swearing (because, it's Tommy.)
> 
> I was going to post these once a week so I don't run out of chapters I've written...but the new YA comic was released today! So. Have some fanfiction.

Chapter 4

Saturday, June 27th

“That was an _amazing_ fight. You kicked that guy's _ass!_ ” Tommy exclaimed, as they approached the door to the Kaplan's house.

“Well, I am pretty amazing!” Noh-varr laughed, putting his arm around Tommy's shoulders and leaning in for a kiss.

“Okay, okay, stop that. We gotta be quiet. You wanna wake everyone up?” Tommy hissed at him.

“Yes. I want to wake up everyone by screaming while you fuck me.” Noh-varr said, his voice thick with lust.

Tommy punched him in the arm. “Don't tempt me.”

Tommy took Noh-varr by the shoulders and vibrated them through the door. Mrs. Kaplan had like, a sixth sense about keys turning in the front door, so when he sneaked out his window at night, he always vibrated his way back in. Once they were inside, he tugged Noh-varr towards the stairs. “C'mon. Let's see how loud we can – Teddy?”

Teddy and Billy were in the living room. Billy was asleep in Teddy's lap, and Teddy was playing some kind of RPG. They must have pulled a marathon for a midnight release while Tommy was gone. He froze at the bottom of the stairs, his hand still on Noh-varr's arm.

Teddy looked up when they entered, and upon seeing Noh-varr, his eyes darkened with rage. He set his controller down, slid out from under Billy's head, and stalked over to them, growing huge and green and ripping right through his t-shirt.

“What the hell is _he_ doing here?” Teddy snarled, pointing angry, clawed fingers at Noh-varr.

“This is Noh-varr.” Tommy said defensively. So what if it was early in the morning and he'd obviously been out all night? Teddy wasn't his _mom._ “He's my-” He paused for a second. Teddy and Billy didn't know he was interested in guys, and this certainly wasn’t how he wanted them to find out.

“He's my friend.”

Noh-varr's face became stormy, and he yanked his arm away. Clearly pissed. He snarled something in Kree under his breath, but Tommy had no idea what he said, and no time to try to translate it before Teddy started in on him.

“I _know_ who he is. Don't you? This is the fucker who dragged us off to the Cube. Don't you remember? Fuck Tommy, why are you hanging out with a guy who's responsible for them torturing Billy?!”

Tommy looked at Noh-varr with wide eyes. He'd hardly been around for that fight – something his team had been really angry about. He'd never heard the guy's name either. But now that he had a memory to match it up with, he realized that Noh-varr looked almost exactly the same, minus the completely crazed look he'd had in his eye while he was trying to kill them, anyways.

“Fuck _you, Dorrek._ ” Noh-varr said savagely. “It's not like I wanted to bring you there. You were stuck in the Cube for a single day. I was there for _years._ ”

“Is that supposed to make me feel bad for you? You're not a good guy – you blew up half the city just to tell Earth to fuck off, and you left the Avengers because you couldn't handle their no-kill policy.” Teddy accused, getting right into Noh-varr's personal space and baring his teeth.

“You don't know _anything_ about me, _Skrull_.” Noh-varr snarled, not intimidated at all. “Whatever. I guess you don't need me to be your 'friend' any more Thomas, not since your other friends are so wonderful.” He left, slamming the door behind him.

Tommy rounded on Teddy. “What the hell was that Altman! I thought you were supposed to be the nice one!”

“That guy is bad news Tommy. You don't want to be around him.” Teddy said, in that obnoxiously self-righteous voice he got when he thought he was explaining moral matters to Tommy. Tommy hated that voice.

“That _guy_ is my boyfriend, asshole!” Tommy hissed. He wanted to punch the horrified expression right off Teddy's face. But he had more important things to worry about, like how he needed to apologize to Noh-varr. Like right now. Shit.

He raced out the door; looking frantically for Noh-varr. If he'd gone home already, Tommy might never find him. He had no idea where the Kree lived, they hadn't been there yet. And Noh-varr was pretty fast when he wanted to be. Tommy took off at top speed, searching in an expanding grid pattern; radiating out from Billy's house. If he went fast enough...

He found Noh-varr running, about two miles away. Damn, that fucker was fast, for a non-speedster. He latched onto Noh-varr's arm and forced him to stop running. “Noh-varr, I -”

“Get _off_ me!” Noh-varr shoved, and Tommy went flying, straight into the brick facade of a building nearby.

His brain felt rattled. That hurt a lot more when you weren't wearing a Kevlar suit.

“Shit, Tommy, are you alright?”

“Yeah.” He sat up with a groan. “Yeah, I'm okay.”

“Good.” Noh-varr was apparently still pissed. Now that he knew Tommy was alright, he stalked off again. He didn't even offer Tommy a hand up.

“Dammit, Noh-varr, I'm sorry!” Tommy pulled himself up again, and darted in front of him.

“Whatever. I'm sure you don't want anything to do with used alien gene trash like me, right? And your Skrull is right, I'm _not_ a good guy.” Noh-varr said all this with a devastated expression on his face that more than hinted at a whole slew of emotions and memories underneath that Tommy did _not_ want to get into right now.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! I don't think you're trash. You're not the only one who was experimented on. My mom died half-way through my stint in juvie. My dad wrote me off, gave them full custody of me. I was experimented on too, till Billy and the rest of them got me out.” He said it like it wasn't a big deal. Because if he said it that way enough, maybe it wouldn't be.

Noh-varr's eyes darkened in fury that wasn't directed at Tommy. “Did they hurt you?”

Tommy looked away. H really didn't want to be talking about this. He only brought it up to make Noh-varr feel better. “Does it matter? I'm out now, and you're out, and...I'm sorry. Sorry that I didn't tell Altman we were dating until after you left.”

“We haven't really quantified it yet.” Noh-varr said.

'Quantified.' It was going to take forever to teach this alien to speak English. “No. But you always tell everyone at the club that we’re dating. I've heard you. I just – it's none of their business. Everyone who knows Billy will just think I'm gay because he is; because we're twins. I don't want you to be my version of Teddy. I want you to be...you.” God, too many feelings.

Noh-varr reached out and pulled Tommy to him in a desperate embrace. “You really mean that?”

“Yeah. It's going to be hard for me to be open about us – no one know I'm gay. Not that I am. Fuck, I don't know. Sexuality for me is complicated. But I'll try.”

Noh-varr cocked his head to the side, considering. “You're not very open with your friends, are you?”

“I'm not open with anyone.” Tommy said quickly. He wasn't. He wasn't a touchy-feely guy. Not a romantic. Billy got all those genes, and he was welcome to them, as far as Tommy was concerned.

“I guess I'm special, then.” Noh-varr decided.

“Yeah.”

“So...do you want to go to my place? It's not as nice, no hot water, but also no judgmental brother-in-law.”

“Yeah. That sounds good. Really good actually.” And Tommy could make Noh-varr scream as loud as he wanted, and scandalize all his neighbors. That would be _much_ better than talking about feelings, or their mutual past torture.

He smiled, and walked back to Noh-varr's apartment with him. They didn't hold hands, but they didn't need to. They were together, and that was all that mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might argue that Teddy is out of character. He's the nice, forgiving guy, right? True - except where Billy is concerned. He told Magneto to shove it and threatened to rip Wolverine's arms off when they wanted to use/hurt Billy. So. I figure lashing out at Noh-varr would be pretty in-character for him, at least till he's had time to process it all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, and the next one, Mrs. Kaplan is kind of a bitch. Yes, yes, I know, in cannon, Billy's family is godly, perfect saintly people. And when faced with a relatively good kid like Billy, and his perfect boyfriend, she probably does quite well. That would not prepare her for the kind of trouble that Tommy stumbles into. Especially not in this AU, where he has serious body issues.
> 
> So yes, she's a bit OOC. However, I maintain that people can get angry when they're worried, and I feel like Tommy has probably pushed sweet Rebecca a few too many times over the years since Children's Crusade, and Noh-varr is too much alien for her to handle right away.
> 
> Warning for this chapter: Language, as always. References to incest, not that anyone in this fic is practicing, but it's discussed.

Chapter 5

Monday, July 6th

“I'm thinking chili dogs. Or chili fries. Or anything with chili, really.” Tommy said, as they walked towards the Kaplan's apartment.

Noh-varr had come straight to Tommy's school after work, and they had walked home together. They could have both run, of course, but Noh-varr was glad Tommy had agreed to walk slow with him. He'd had a brutal fight last night, and his ribs and left side were covered in bone-deep bruises. He could have run if he'd needed to, but he'd rather walk. Plus, it was easier to check Tommy out when they walked slowly – he didn't have instant eye reflexes like his lover did.

Tommy was wearing a black tank top binder, which showed off his smooth chest and rock solid abs. Noh-varr was glad that Tommy felt secure enough in his binder not to cover himself up in a t-shirt or thick hoodie when the weather was nice. Apparently he had them custom made, and they were all reinforced enough to keep his chest flat even when he was fighting. He also had on dark jeans that had a tribal pattern done all down one leg in black sharpie. Tommy claimed he got bored in class. The jeans were loose, but still showed off his ass and his incredibly long legs. Noh-varr knew Tommy packed, but you'd never be able to tell by looking at him. He looked confident, sexy and natural, and Noh-varr wanted to strip all his clothes off and fuck him right there in the street. He consoled himself with the fact that his lover was easily the sexiest man in New York, even when you were including his twin brother.

“You know I'll eat whatever you like. There is still much Earth food I have yet to consume.”

“You mean there's a lot of food you haven't eaten yet.” Tommy said automatically. He had been working on Noh-varr's 'human English,' insisting that if he was going to learn Kree, that Noh-varr was going to stop talking like he was reading from a dictionary. Noh-varr had yet to get the hang of it.

“Right.”

They had reached Billy's apartment. “Back in a sec.” Tommy said, disappearing inside. He returned thirty seconds later minus his book bag, with a pair of roller-blades laced together and thrown over his shoulder.

“So.” He said excitedly, “Food first? Or should I kick your ass in the human art of rollerblading, and then go get food?”

Noh-varr rolled his eyes. “Knowing you, we could eat now, explore the pointless nature of walking with wheels strapped to our feet, and then eat again.”

“Aw, fuck you. Rollerblading is awesome. It's like flying. And you'll be good at it.”

“Thomas? Who's your friend?”

Noh-varr turned to see a brown-hair middle aged woman standing there, holding the hands of two smaller boys. They looked enough like Tommy's twin that he decided that these must be Billy's brothers, Isaac and Jacob. Tommy complained about them frequently. That then, would make the woman Mrs. Kaplan. She didn't look very happy to see him. He stood up straighter, smoothed the wrinkles out of his face to make himself look younger, and gave her a tentative smile.

“Oh. Hey Mrs. Kaplan.” Tommy said. “You're home early.”

“The boy's and I just got back from the park.” She looked pointedly at Noh-varr.

“Uh. This is Noh-varr. He's in college. He helps me study sometimes. We're going to go rollerblading and get a bite to eat.” Tommy looked at Noh-varr with a wary expression, probably hoping not to set him off again.

“So you won't be back for dinner?” Mrs. Kaplan asked sharply.

“Um...no? Are we having a thing?” Tommy asked, clearly puzzled now.

Noh-varr wasn't. If this woman was Thomas' guardian, she probably didn't approve of her ward spending his time with men twice his age. Especially not ones wearing leather jackets and sporting alien gang tattoos on the back of their hands. His face had a few bruises on it too, across his jaw and another on his collarbone.

“I'm making matzah ball soup.” She said evenly. Noh-varr had no idea what that was. He was too busy watching the little boys stare back at him in something that might have been awe to even try to figure out what it might be.

“Oh. Welll, Billy'll like that.” Tommy said carefully.

This was quickly becoming awkward.

“Mom, mom.” The littler of the boys, Noh-varr was pretty sure it was Isaac, tugged on his mother's sleeve insistantly. “How come that guy has white hair like Tommy? Is he a mutant too?”

The other boy perked up. “Yeah mom. Is he really fast like Tommy? Or can he grow and pick us up? Or make cool stuff happen like Billy?”

Isaac chimed back in, jumping up and down so excitedly that Noh-varr was growing concerned. “Can he, can he?”

Noh-varr shook his head. “No, I'm not a mutant.”

“Oh.” Both boys said at the same time. They sounded disappointed.

Then Isaac asked, “Well...are you really old? Only Tommy and old people have hair like that.”

“He bleaches it.” Tommy snapped. Noh-varr got the impression that he didn't get along very well with Billy's brothers.

“Look, we should go. I'm starving.” He grabbed Noh-varr's arm and pulled him down the street.

“Remember to be back by eleven!” Mrs. Kaplan called after them.

Tommy walked faster.

“What is she, crazy?” He was swearing under his breath. “I'm never home before midnight. Especially on a Monday. I always stay with you.”

“It's my fault.” Noh-varr said. “I'm too old for you.”

Tommy made a face. “What's _that_ supposed to mean?”

“I had a human girlfriend, back when I was in the Avengers. Her mother also felt I was too old for her. Honestly Tommy, do I _look_ like I'm in college?”

“Right now? You kinda look like a thug. You have the silver chain necklace and everything.”

“I _am_ a thug. I beat people up for a living.”

“You could be in college.” Tommy insisted.

Noh-varr snorted. He didn't believe that for a minute.

“No, really. You could pass for twenty-two or twenty-three.”

“You think so?” Perhaps humans had a more difficult time gauging age than he'd thought.

“Well, it's not like you're _that_ much older than that.” Tommy said. Noh-varr tried to hide his wince. “What're you, like twenty-six?”

Noh-varr looked away.

“Twenty-nine?” Tommy tried again. Noh-varr could hear the disbelief in his voice.

Great. He was right. By human standards, they _did_ have an abnormally large age gap. He'd thought so, but Tommy acted so mature all the time that he didn't really think about it most of the time. Except for when he was faced with Tommy's guardian. Or right now, when Tommy was so far from his real age.

Tommy gave an exasperated sigh. “Well, how old are you then?”

Noh-varr hesitated. If he told the truth, would Tommy not want to be with him anymore? Sure, Tommy had a penchant for flouting social conventions, but would it be too much? He decided that truth would still probably serve him better than lying. He wasn't good enough with English to lie convincingly in it anyways.

“In Earth years...I'm thirty-seven.”

There was silence for a moment. Tommy grew completely and utterly still. That was a bad sign. Then, “Seriously?”

“Yes. You're dating an old man.” Noh-varr said darkly, scowling.

“Aw, c'mon. You're not an old man.” Tommy insisted, running a hand down Noh-varr's arm.

“I _feel_ old. You weren't even close to guessing my age. No one your age hangs out with someone my age. It's not...human.” He spat that last sentence out with distaste.

“Look. I don't care about that. And you said 'Earth years.' How old are you, really?” He sounded curious, not angry. So that was a good sign.

“Kree age about half the speed that humans do, as far as I can tell from observation. So I'm roughly eighteen or nineteen in the Kree equivalent of age.” Which was well in the realm of dating possibilities where humans were concerned. That made him feel a little better.

“You look older than that.” Tommy admitted.

“To be fair, most Kree lead much more...quiet lives than I have.” They certainly didn't send full bred Kree on dangerous, mulch-dimensional missions. That was a job reserved strictly for half-breeds. Hell, most of the Kree who ever left the home planet were half-breeds. They didn't want to risk a viable, breed-able Kree out in the universe. Not when they could just create a hybrid to do it for them.

“Yeah, well, I don't care how old you are.” Tommy declared. “You're smart, and sexy, and you dress pretty well, even if you look like you went shopping in a store for drug dealers. I like it.”

“But your guardian does not approve. And people always stare at us when we are affectionate in public.” Noh-varr pointed out. He didn't like it when people stared. It made him nervous.

“Yeah, well, Billy's mom never approves of anything that I do. And screw people. They're gonna stare anyways, cuz we both have white hair. And gay marriage hasn't been legal in New York for very long. Humans are stupid.” He declared.

“Sides,” Tommy said after a moment, kicking a rock away from them to sail away across the pavement, “If anything, people probably just stare cuz they think we're related. Brothers or something.”

That was...that was...it couldn't be true. Being thought as old was bad enough, but these people, these humans seriously thought he could stoop to incest? What was _wrong_ with them?

“I think I may never touch you in public every again.” Noh-varr said, horrified. “People really believe that?”

Tommy looked up at his face. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down. You look like I just said people thought you ate babies or something.”

“Among my people, incest is what you would call 'anathema.'” He said quickly, desperate to explain.

“Well, it's not looked on too well here.” Tommy said. “But who cares what they think?”

“No, Tommy. You don't understand. My people -” He swallowed. “You know I am not of this dimension, don't you?”

“Billy tried to explain that, yeah.” Tommy shrugged, as if the complexities of mulch-dimensional travel were something he'd never bothered contemplate. Which, given how prehistoric the Earth was, he probably never had.

“I have been told here it is not the same. But in my reality, my species is nearly extinct. I am a hybrid, created in a lab so that the High Command would not have to risk full-blooded Kree on a potentially dangerous mission. There are barely enough full-blooded Kree for a viable population. Committing incest – weakening the gene pool – it is more than a social taboo. It would cause the death of my entire species. I – I cannot bear to be associated with such a practice.”

“Damn. You really feel strongly about this, huh?”

Noh-varr swallowed, and nodded. He wanted to throw up, just thinking about it.

“Hey. I'm sure it's okay.” Tommy said, leaning into Noh-varr and putting a firm hand on Noh-varr's hip. Noh-varr would be lying if he didn't admit that Tommy's touch was soothing.

“People don't think that much.” Tommy explained. “Most of them probably don't even notice us. This is New York, all sorts of odd shit happens here. If they do notice us, they see the white hair and think old. If they look closely, they think mutant. I doubt few people actually get past all their preconceptions to actually think we're related.”

“Thank you, Tommy.” It really did make him feel better. Enough to return the gesture, and put an arm around Tommy's shoulders. “Now, where can we get chili dogs?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and feedback is always welcome!! :3
> 
> This chapter is self-beta'd as usual...feel free to alert me to glaring errors.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for explict language, racist/homophobic behavior.

Chapter 6

Tuesday, July 21st

Noh-varr moaned as Tommy palmed him through his jeans. Tommy loved that noise. They'd been having sex for months now and he loved it more every time he heard it.

“Shh! God, do you want to wake everyone up?” Tommy laughed.

“Can't help it.” Noh-varr gasped.

Tommy bit down on one of Noh-varr's hotspots, and Noh-varr writhed beneath him. Tommy was straddling his hips, and had a hand over Noh-varr's mouth to keep him quiet. They'd just gotten back from the club. It was a Tuesday morning, everyone should be asleep for at least another two hours before they got up for work and school, but after Teddy caught them last time, they had to be more careful.

Of course, Tommy wasn't paying as much attention as he could have. Having a moaning, writhing Kree between his legs did amazing things for his libido, but terrible things for his concentration. He was more focused on getting Noh-varr off without hurting his still-bruised side. He'd been a little concerned that Noh-varr hadn't healed yet, but Noh-varr had assured him it was normal when one was beaten by a being made of pure metal. Bruises were an occupational hazard when you beat people up for a living.

Once he made Noh-varr come, then they could fall asleep in a tangle of limbs, and he could maybe get Noh-varr to do something fun with him before his lover had to work again. Noh-varr worked too damn much, even if he knew the Kree loved to spend his ridiculous paycheck on him.

He was so focused on his lover, that he didn't hear the footsteps approaching the door, or the handle turning. Noh-varr, who normally had excellent hearing, didn't hear anything either, but that could have been because Tommy's tongue was now down his throat, his hands pawing hungrily over the unbruised parts of his chest and abs.

“I know you're awake Thomas. We need to talk about – what are you _doing_?!” Rebecca's horrified, angry voice cut right through his lust.

He scrambled up, blurring out of sight as he pulled Noh-varr's sweats up, zipping his pants and yanked his binder down over his torso and spilled back off Noh-varr's lap onto the bed beside him. Kree apparently didn't have the ability to blush. Noh-varr still managed to look mortified even with a completely blush-free face. Tommy felt his own face and chest flush hot with his embarrassment and shame and he stammered.

“We uh...we were...um...” Even with a brain that could think much faster than normal, he didn't know what to say. Tommy saw Noh-varr sit up and square his shoulders, and just knew he was about to take full responsibility.

“It's my fault, Mrs. Kaplan. I work really late; Tommy was out with me. And I suggested we come back here; it's closer than my place.” Both of those things were complete bullshit, even if the Kree delivered the lie perfectly. Tommy was out with Noh-varr because he wanted to be, and Noh-varr's place was much closer to the club than he was.

“ _You._ ” Mrs. Kaplan rounded on Noh-varr before Tommy could interrupt him, which he was sure was the goal. “How _dare_ you force yourself on Thomas! Do you have any idea how old he is? He's not even eighteen! And you think you can just keep him out past curfew doing who knows what, and then bring him back and molest him in my house?!”

“He's not _molesting_ me!” Tommy snapped.

“You're hardly in a position to be deciding that for yourself,” Mrs. Kaplan said coldly.

“What does _that_ mean?” Tommy asked. This couldn't be happening. “I'm 17, I'm over the age of consent!”

“You have a record, Thomas, and while you are in my house, you will abide by my rules. Not lie to me and have sex with a man twice your age in my _house_!”

“I'll leave,” Noh-varr said quickly, with an apologetic look at Tommy. Tommy couldn't be mad. Nothing was going to get through to Billy's mom when she was like this, especially not Noh-varr. “I'm going right now.”

He stood up and picked his shirt up off the floor, pulling it on. He flinched when it settled over his injured ribs. Rebecca gasped at sight of his injury and said, “Oh my god! What have you been doing! Tommy, are you alright? You're not hurt are you?”

“I'm fine,” Tommy snapped. Billy's mother drove him crazy. He hadn't even wanted to live here in the first place. She was so used to Teddy and Billy toeing the line, it's like she forgot they had superpowers. No one made Tommy do _anything_. He'd never followed curfew, and he'd been having sex a long time before he brought Noh-varr home. Did she seriously think Noh-varr was his first boyfriend? Of course she did. Billy had never been with anyone before Teddy.

“I'm sorry Tommy,” Noh-varr said, pulling on his jacket. “I'll call you later.”

“No, you won't,” Rebecca said firmly.

Noh-varr looked down at her, like he couldn't understand how this tiny human woman thought she could prevent it. To be fair, she was used to telling Teddy what to do, and he was much bigger than Noh-varr.

“I am sorry we violated the rules of your house,” Noh-varr began, sounding just as foreign as he was, “But I will not stop seeing Tom-my.”

“As long as Thomas lives under my roof, he's subject to the rules here. And he will not be having sex with someone like you.”

Noh-varr was floored. “I'm...sorry. But under your social and governmental laws, Tommy is considered a consenting sexual adult, is he not?”

Tommy couldn't believe this was happening.

“In every other way he is still a minor under my care!”

“I see.” Noh-varr said flatly. He looked pissed, but Tommy couldn't tell if he was mad at Rebecca, or mad at him for not explaining how the age restriction worked. “I am leaving.”

Mrs. Kaplan watched him go, glaring in disapproval. Once the front door slammed, she turned back to Tommy. “We need to have a serious discussion about your behavior.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Tommy, I know it has been hard for you to adjust to living here and abiding by our rules. I know I'm not your real mother. But you can't just skip school and stay out all night. You can't bring people into the house without asking, especially not for sex!” She sounded scandalized, like Billy hadn't ever had sex with Teddy in this house. There was no way she didn't know that happened.

“Noh-varr is a really great guy,” Tommy said adamantly.

“He's way too old for you, Tommy. You should be going out with kids your own age. And I thought you liked girls.”

“Kids my own age are annoying little shits. And why would you know anything about me? We don't exactly talk. And that's fine. I don't _want_ to talk.”

“You can't just ignore me until you turn eighteen, Thomas.”

“What're you gonna do, _ground me_?” He spat. He knew he was acting like a teenager, but he really didn't care. She was treating him like her own child, when they'd never even interacted all that much for the last two years he'd lived here. Now that he had a boyfriend she actually knew about, she was freaking out.

Rebecca sighed. “Yes, for now.”

“Whatever.” He pulled his covers over his head. 

She left the room, and Tommy pulled out his phone and texted Noh-varr.  <Hey, are you mad at me? Don't let her get to you, she's being a bitch.>

There was no reply.

Tommy was angry and tired, so he went to bed.

xxx

When Tommy woke up, Rebecca was on the phone. He cracked his door, and listened in, completely unashamed.

“Yes, hi John. I'm calling for some legal advice. I want to file a restraining order, but I don't have a lot of information about the person I'm restraining against. It's my legal ward's boyfriend. Uh-huh. Yes. Yes, I can do that. And I know he's 17, but is there any way to pursue a rape charge? His boyfriend is at least 30. Yes, I'll hold. Thank you.”

Tommy stared at the door in disbelief. She wouldn't...would she? Rebecca wasn't like that. She worried way too much, but Billy was always going on about how understanding his parents were. But she was talking to a lawyer, and she sounded serious.

“Fuck this.” 

He looked at his phone, and had one blinking message from Noh-varr. <I'm sorry. I love you.>

That was the first time Noh-varr had ever said that to him. Fucking aliens. You don't drop that on a guy in a text message.

<So does that mean I can move in with you?>

<There's no hot water here.>

<Whatever. Better than this place. Be there in ten minutes.>

Tommy grabbed a duffel bag out of his closet. He spent five minutes deciding what to bring with him – he wanted to bring as little that the Kaplan's had gotten him as possible. Basic needs he'd bought himself – his deodorant, toothbrush, stuff like that. All his binders and packers he'd bought on his own. All his sex toys were already at Noh-varr's. He'd seriously miss his Xbox – that had been a Christmas present, as had his laptop and television. He took the sim card out of his phone and packed it – he could get a cheap burner phone later. For clothes he packed everything he'd bought himself and everything Teddy and Billy had gotten him. If he needed anything else, he'd just suck it up and ask Noh-varr to buy it for him.

It took two minutes to pack everything. He hesitated at Billy's door for another full minute, before deciding not to wake him. His twin would only try to talk him out of it. Once that was decided, he sped out of the room, unplugging Mrs. Kaplan's phone in the middle of her call, and opening the door, instead of vibrating through it, so he could slam it satisfyingly behind him. 

He made it to Noh-varr's with thirty seconds to spare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes I KNOW. Rebecca Kaplan is kind of crazy in this chapter. Again. I feel like Tommy is a lot for her to handle, especially compared to Billy/Teddy. And so she kind of flies off the handle. But there will be resolution there later.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noh-Varr is in the alien mob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter include: graphic language and explicit sex.

Chapter 7

Thursday, July 23rd 2015

“You know, as much as I like take out, we should probably buy some food, at some point.” Tommy said. He was sitting in Noh-Varr's lap at their table, because he could, eating Chinese. Noh-Varr had just gotten up, and was sitting groggily with a hand on Tommy's waist, blearily drinking his third cup of coffee. It took his lover a long time to get going in the morning, and usually copious amounts of coffee. Not that Tommy woke any easier, but once he'd had a cup of coffee, his metabolism ensured he would stay awake. Noh-Varr could sleep any time, anywhere.

The Kree rested his head on Tommy's shoulder and mumbled, “We can get whatever you want.” 

Tommy had yelled at Noh-Varr for quite some time about the nerve of dropping the 'L bomb' on someone through a text message. Noh-Varr had been shocked, and apologized profusely. Apparently he hadn't realized he'd never said it before; at least, that's what he'd claimed in his defense. He hadn't said it again. Tommy wasn't sure how he felt about that, so he tried not to think about it at all. Feelings were stupid. It's not like he wanted Noh-Varr to say that anyway.

“Plex, what time is it?” Noh-Varr asked groggily.

**//We are not a clock, Noh-Varr.//** Plex actually sounded like he was sulking. **//It is 2:45 pm. You have five hours until you must be ready for work.//**

“You don't have to go in till 8 today?” Tommy asked. “That's nice.”

“I've got a personal errand I need to run for Raquel. But I can do that while we're out getting food. Will we be able to get what you need without a refrigerator?” Noh-Varr still didn't understand the concept of home cooking.

“Yeah. You don't need a fridge for snack food.”

“We can go when you're done eating.”

“I'll be done in like...thirty seconds. You need at least two more cups of coffee.” Tommy teased.

“I should probably get a shower too...” Noh-Varr sighed.

“Ugh. That'll wake you up. Your shower is _brutal_.”

“You should've seen it before I started cleaning it.” Noh-Varr said, with an edge of horror to his voice.

“No thanks.” Tommy finished his food and handed Noh-Varr his paper take out container and chop sticks to eat, because he knew the Kree would eat them anyway. Watching Noh-Varr eat garbage was a little weird, but he'd given up trying to break him of the habit. Though he had bought Noh-Varr a second bottle of Scope.

He actually needed a shower too. Morning sex was great, because no matter how sleepy Noh-Varr was, he always liked getting fucked. But that meant he had to shower in the shitty showers they had on Noh-Varr's floor. The water was frigid. He'd asked Noh-Varr if any of the other floors had hot water, and the look Noh-Varr had given him made him not ask again.

“Ugh. I'd better come with you. I'm not standing in that freezing cold water by myself.”

He got off Noh-Varr's lap and stripped down, then pulled out the full-body towel Noh-Varr had gotten him the first night he'd needed to stay over. There was nowhere to change in the floor's bathroom, so most of the residents just walked there and back naked. Living here was like taking a crash course in alien anatomy.

Noh-Varr pulled himself up off the stool and pulled off his boxers, which had been the only thing he was wearing anyways. He tied his own striped towel around his waist and stumbled out the door. Tommy brought their bag of toiletries with him, and trusted Plex to lock the door. 

There were a couple of other residents in the bathroom, a purple skinned girl with hair that looked like a crystal formation, and an amorphous green blob that had just come out of one of the shower stalls, trailing slime. Noh-Varr started cursing at the blob in Kree.

“Hey Tommy,” the girl told him.

“Hey Crystal,” he said back. She wouldn't tell him her real name, so until she realized that he really wasn't trying to pick her up and actually told him, Crystal was what it would be.

He got in one of the shower stalls with Noh-Varr, pulled his towel from around his body, and reached out with one arm to hang it on a hook. He got out their soap, shampoo and conditioner, and pressed himself up against Noh-Varr, trying to leech some of the Kree's body heat.

“Ready.”

Noh-Varr turned the water on, and Tommy gasped as he was hit in the face with a blast of cold water. He stood there and shivered, until their skin was wet enough to soap down. Then Noh-Varr turned the water back off, and they shampooed their hair and scrubbed with the soap. They stood there, Noh-Varr's arms around Tommy, rubbing his back to keep warm. When the shampoo had been in long enough, Noh-Varr turned the water back on so they could rinse off.

Tommy would have just gotten out after that, but Noh-Varr had to condition his hair, so Tommy did too. The Kree's hair was very coarse, and if he didn't condition it, it felt like running his hands through a bristle brush. So Tommy stood there shivering in Noh-Varr's arms while the conditioner set.

“God, I miss shower sex,” he muttered.

Noh-Varr chuckled into his hair. “Yeah. I don't think that'll be happening in these showers any time soon.”

“It would keep us warm though,” Tommy said. He got a mischievous look on his face, and sank down to his knees.

“What are you – uhn!” Noh-Varr put his hand over his mouth to muffle the groan that came out when Tommy swallowed his cock.

“That's really gonna...uuhungh...suck when I turn the water back on.” He gasped out.

“Mmhm.” Tommy hummed around his cock. Noh-Varr needed to let his conditioner sit anyways.

He loved sucking Noh-Varr's cock. Tommy had sucked plenty of guys in his time, and anyone who knew anything about dick would have been able to tell Noh-Varr wasn't human. His cock was too perfect. It was eight and a half inches of pure perfection. Perfect length, width, texture, perfectly straight – Noh-Varr had mentioned he'd been put together in a lab, and it showed. Tommy wasn't complaining.

Tommy worshiped his cock, just like it deserved. Noh-Varr groaned, leaning back against the shower wall and putting his hands in Tommy's hair. Noh-Varr let him take the lead, letting Tommy suck his cock however he wanted, setting the pace, the suction. He loved it all.

When Noh-Varr's groans dissolved into stammered Kree, Tommy pulled back. “Fuck my face Noh. I know you want to.”

Noh-Varr said something filthy in Kree, and dug his fingers into Tommy's hair. He took control from Tommy, his hips snapping forward and driving his cock down Tommy's throat. Tommy swallowed around it, moaning when Noh-Varr picked up the pace. Noh-Varr was panting and swearing at him in his sexy, scratchy voice, saying things Tommy barely understood while he fucked him with his perfect dick. It was amazing.

Tommy reached down and stroked himself, not even caring that he didn't have the right parts. He was getting fucked, and it felt good, and he was so fucking close. If he just stroked himself a little faster he'd come and Noh-Varr was clutching his head and pulling his hair and slamming his hips one more time and Tommy swallowed and swallowed and jacked off so fast he felt like he was using a vibrator and he was coming and _fuck_.

He clung to Noh-Varr's muscled thigh, panting again his boyfriend's leg as the world rocked around him. Noh-Varr always made him feel so damn good. Noh-Varr's fingers were still in his hair, caressing his head lovingly. He'd been in so many relationships, but hardly ever one where the other person actually cared about _him_ and not just the sex. A relationship where someone actually loved and accepted everything about him. Noh-Varr was completely amazing.

Tommy stood shakily, and leaned into Noh-Varr. The Kree's arms came up around him naturally, holding him in a warm embrace. Noh-Varr leaned forward and murmured something in Kree, before capturing his lips in a gentle kiss. Noh-Varr was almost always gentle – slow, methodical, through, but still deeply passionate.

They made out for a good five minutes or so before Noh-Varr could speak English again. He smiled at Tommy and said softly, “You might want to get out. I need to rinse my hair.”

“...might as well get me too.” Tommy said, resigned. “I'm all sweaty now, for some reason.”

Noh-Varr grinned, and kissed him again. “Alright.”

The cold water was like a slap in the face. Tommy spluttered and shook under the cold spray, staying in it just long enough to rinse off the sweat. Noh-Varr took only a few seconds longer to rinse his hair, and then he turned off the water and glared at the shower head.

“Fuck, I need to get that fixed,” he complained.

Tommy, who could _not_ just reroute painful sensations with a thought, was shivering too much to say anything. He reached out and grabbed their towels, handing Noh-Varr his. He shook violently, vibrating in place to warm up and shed all the water from his skin. Then he wrapped his towel around him, grabbed their toiletries, and stepped out.

Crystal was still there. She glanced at him and raised a single crystalline eyebrow. Well...they had been kind of loud. Tommy fought down a blush. It wasn't his fault she'd stayed in here for so long, doing...whatever it was she was doing. Chiseling her nails?

“Bye, Crystal.” Noh-Varr said smugly, stepping out of the shower with his towel tied on dangerously low on his hips. He placed one hand on Tommy's wait, and grinned.

Tommy grinned back, and followed him back to their room. Noh-Varr was already getting dressed when he walked in, pulling on a white ribbed tank top, baggy jeans with ragged hems and a hole in one knee and a ridiculously large belt buckle, and combat boots. He latched a thick silver chain around his neck, and pulled on his leather jacket.

“So, are you trying to look like a thug, or does it just come naturally?”

“You dissin' my clothes?” Noh-Varr asked with a serious face.

Tommy started laughing. “You-you're-haha, who even says that any more?”

Noh-Varr made a face. “Get dressed, ass. We can get some breakfast while we're out.” He didn't like it when Tommy told him how out of date his vernacular was. Apparently the use of slang was something he just couldn't comprehend.

“Mm. I could eat again.” Tommy dug through his duffel and pulled out a clean binder, pulled it on and put a blue t-shirt on top of it that said, “POP CULTURE REFERENCE,” in bold black lettering. 

It was still weird putting his packer on in front of Noh-Varr. The Kree wasn't embarrassed about it, though he had been curious at first at how humans dealt with gender changes. Once Tommy had managed to relay to Noh-Varr just how sensitive and private that sort of thing was, he'd stopped asking quite so many questions. He knew Noh-Varr meant well, but in the past, people's curiosity about his gender had led to some...uncomfortable situations. He'd rather just not talk about it.

Tommy pulled his black briefs on, the ones designed with his particular brand of packer in mind. Over that he put on a pair of faded blue jeans. They weren't as worn as Noh-Varr's, but the hem was ragged from all the running he did. He toed into his Converse knock-offs, and tightened the laces. Having loose laces at the speed of sound was a total bitch.

“See you later Plex.” Tommy called as they headed out of the apartment.

**//Goodbye, Tommy.//**

“Why do you talk to Plex like that, Tommy? He's just a program.” Noh-Varr asked, once they'd gotten out into the hall.

Tommy looked at him quizzically. “I thought Plex was your friend.”

Noh-Varr looked sad. “My Plex burned – killed by humans who were too afraid of what he had to say to listen to what he could have taught them. I re-created Plex once, in the Cube, after your Vision freed me. He too, was lost, victim of the Skrull's malicious virus. I made Plex 2.5 out of my memories of him. This program isn't Plex.”

Oh. Tommy struggled with how to convey his sympathy without coming across as condescending or gushy and emotional. He held the door open for Noh-Varr, and they exited out onto the street together.

“I had an AI on my team, too. Vision, the guy who freed you, was a re-boot of the original, but he was different. He was young like us. But he was still a person.”

Noh-Varr didn't look upset, or offended, but Tommy still got the feeling they weren't on the same page. “I see. Plex was not like that. Plex was...My crew was all mind linked by Plex. We had what you would call a hive mind, all our voices working together for the same purpose. Plex guided us, Plex advised us, and helped us make sense to each other. I had their voices in my mind since I was born. The hive mind was implanted when we were made; all of us meant to be together. And then they were ripped out of my head when they died. Plex...Plex held me together after that.”

It was seriously heavy shit to be talking about on such a nice afternoon. But Tommy could tell this had been eating at Noh-Varr for a while. He needed to get it out, and there probably weren't very many people he'd trust to talk to about this. 

“You said that the original Plex died. And the re-boot. So...why make him again?” Tommy wasn't being cruel. He just wanted to know.

“His program is linked to my mind now, so I have something filling the silence in my head. But it's not the same. But it's not the same; it's too quiet. Plex was hundreds of voices – thousands. He was all that our people are. This Plex only knows what I know, and what I was able to hack from the Supreme Intelligence before they put a price on my head. It's not the same.” He said bitterly.

Tommy didn't know what to do with that. How did you apologize for the human race? Especially when, as a mutant, you had quite a good idea of just how cruel and destructive humans could be. Technically, he wasn't one of the people who had hurt Noh-Varr; he wasn't even the same species. But this was still his planet, and they'd completely fucked up Noh-Varr's whole family, his whole life.

“That...sucks.” He said, lamely. What else was he supposed to say?

Noh-Varr shrugged. Tommy could practically see him shunting the grief away, like it was another kind of pain he could re-route. “I mourned them a long time ago. At the time, I was angry. Now, well, I have you.” He smiled.

Damn. No pressure, or anything. 

He found himself blushing, and scrubbed a hand through his hair. Yeah, flattered embarrassment was definitely the way to play this. Much better than declarations of undying love, anyways. “Well. Anyways. Shouldn't I talk to him more, so his programming grows? It's good for him, right?”

“I suppose it is. He likes you,” Noh-Varr admitted.

“That's because I'm _amazing._ ” Tommy grinned.

They ended up in front of a discount grocery store that Tommy hadn't even known was around here. Tommy took the lead, not trusting Noh-Varr to pick out anything edible, since he didn't have fucking taste buds. Noh-Varr followed him through the aisles, looking far too interested in all the different kinds of foods.

Tommy loved discount stores. They never had the same things, but they could get a crap ton of food for super cheap, which was important when you had an appetite like Tommy. He ignored the fresh produce section, since Noh-Varr didn't have a fridge. He picked up a bunch of soups, more pasta, ramen and off-brand spagettios. Then he got four bags of chips, two boxes of cookies, five boxes of crackers (in different kinds), and pop-tarts, and a box of cereal. He bought several bags of mixed fruit and nuts. Contrary to popular belief, he did care about his health, and yes, he knew what vitamins were. He also got a bunch of drinks – flavored water and soda, and some juice. If he stuck them out on the fire escape overnight, they'd be cold enough to drink.

They had a section of non-food items where Tommy picked out a ton of vitamins, since there was no way what he just bought would make up for fruits and veggies. They also had the pay by the minute throw away phones, so he got one of those and a five hundred minute card.

He let Noh-Varr pay. He didn't feel like having a big fight about it in the store, and he didn't have much money on him anyways. He needed to buy new clothes with that. Well, to be more accurate, he needed to bet on Noh-Varr's next fight, and then buy new clothes with his winnings. While there was some chance that Noh-Varr could lose, he had a 98% winning streak, and he hadn't lost once since Tommy had started dating him.

Tommy was actually starting to worry about Noh-Varr, not that he'd ever admit that out loud. Noh-Varr seemed to be tired all the time now, and he was always having to be careful of a different injury when they were having sex. He knew that Noh-Varr was living and working illegally, so he had essentially no rights, and Raquel could work him as much as she wanted. But Noh-Varr had been doing his job a long time. What if the only reason he was having trouble coping was because he was spending time with Tommy instead of resting? He hadn't brought it up, because he knew if he was in Noh-Varr's position, he wouldn't want to talk about it. But he was still worried.

When they were finished checking out, Noh-Varr gave a twenty dollar bill to the orange skinned kid who bagged their groceries. “Hey Kel. Will you take these to my apartment? I'm in 437. You know where my complex is, don't you?”

“Course Noh-Varr. Everyone knows where you live.”

Noh-Varr ruffled his red hair. “Just tell Plex you're dropping off the groceries, and he'll let you in.”

“Sure, no problem!” Kel grinned up at him.

“See you later.” Noh-Varr motioned to Tommy, who followed him out.

“What did he mean, everyone knows where you live? Tommy asked.

“This is Raquel's territory. Everyone knows where she lives. I work for her, so they know where I live too. If there's a problem and they don't want to go to her, they come to me.” Noh-Varr explained, all too casually.

“You make it sound like you're in the mob or something.” Tommy snickered.

“That's a very human perspective,” Noh-Varr said stiffly. He sounded uneasy.

Wait. “What's that supposed to mean? You _are_ in the mob?”

Noh-Varr sighed, and held his hands out, palms down, showing off his spiraling black stylized sun tattoos. “I'm in...a group. Black Sun. That's what the tattoos are for.” Tommy hadn't known they meant anything.

“Holy shit. My boyfriend's a gang member.” He wondered if that's how Noh-Varr had picked his wardrobe. Maybe someone had told him it was 'traditional,' or something. At least he didn't go everywhere dressed in a suit. That would just be too much.

“Technically I'm an enforcer for Raquel directly,” Noh-Varr muttered, “I'm not in a gang.”

“Yes, you are,” Tommy said. “Wait. Are you going to get in trouble for telling me?”

Noh-Varr shrugged. “If you were human, maybe. But you're a mutant, and you're my lover. Even if we broke up I know you wouldn't call the police.”

“No.” Damn, that was a lot of faith to have in a guy you'd only known for three months.

Tommy rubbed his right foot against his left leg in a nervous gesture. “So...what sort of stuff is Black Sun into?” He wasn't anywhere as naive and moral as, say, Billy, but there were still things he just wasn't okay with. He really didn't want this to be the end of them, as a couple. Not like this.

“Raquel runs several alien and mutant friendly clubs, though Mystique is the only gay club. Which you knew, already.”

Tommy nodded. Raquel was kind of famous in the mutant community for that – no one else had the balls to open up a mutant club, and they wouldn't have tolerated one run by a human in any cases. He'd been to a few of the others, but they were nothing like Mystique.

“Then there's the pit fighting, which makes up the bulk of our income. That's not legal, and neither is the gambling, but it helps keep lots of the more blood thirsty aliens and mutants in line. Plus it's fun.” He grinned.

“We run drugs sometimes; harder stuff that strictly _not_ for humans, like the alcohol at the bar. Anyone caught dealing that shit to humans is severely punished. Raquel looks out for us – mutants and aliens. Black Sun helps provide some home comforts, things that aren't available on human markets. And as long as we keep to ourselves, the feds don't really give a shit what we poison ourselves with. It's when it enters the human population that there's trouble,” he explained. It almost sounded like they were a political group, working for their chosen sect of people. And it made sense. No one cared about the aliens living here, as far as he could tell. And mutants either had to choose the Brotherhood or the X-men, and they were both terrible, in their own ways.

Noh-Varr continued, “We don't deal to kids. Ever. We don't mess around with kids, for anything. Raquel’s got connections to prostitution, mostly as protection, but it's the same – alien hookers, sometimes mutants, no kids, and it's as consensual as possible. Obviously few people choose to be in a position where they need to sell themselves to survive, but we don't coerce people into it, we just try to protect the ones who have chosen it; make sure they're safe.”

“Most of the places in our territory pay protection money. It's not extortion – Raquel runs up a large bill paying people like me to keep other gangs out of here, to pay off human cops and pay lawyers to represent us if things go wrong. Most everyone is willing to pay it to. There's a lot of illegals here, like me. We all pay a fee to help Raquel keep the humans out of our business, because it's better for everyone if we do. Where else are we going to get protection? Who the fuck else is going to represent us in a court, keep us from being rounded up and locked away? No one.” He said the last bit heatedly. It was clearly something he felt strongly about. 

Tommy could handle that. He could handle all that. But...”What about trafficking?”

Noh-Varr looked like Tommy had stabbed him. “No.” He said hoarsely. “Never. Same as selling to kids – we catch someone rounding our people up, and there's hell to pay. We catch someone running humans through here, same thing. We catch anyone running mutants or aliens _anywhere_ , and I get a plane ticket. That’s what I do, actually. I take out the trash.” He sneered.

“You kill people?” He knew the answer. He wasn't stupid, he just needed to hear it out loud.

“I have before.” Noh-Varr said carefully, looking at Tommy while he said it. “In my opinion, if you're selling to kids or prostituting them, or you come here in my territory and try to round up my people to sell them to some kind of government facility, you deserve what is coming to you.” His eyes were hard, and Tommy remembered that he'd experienced what it was like to be hauled away and experimented on.

“Yeah. I can understand that.” And he did. If they hadn't stopped him, he would have gladly killed the bastards who had imprisoned him. Noh-Varr never said anything, but he was certain after they'd freed him and left him at the Cube, those personnel hadn't lived very long.

“You don't – that's not a problem for you?” Noh-Varr asked, honestly surprised. “i know you were in the Young Avengers -”

Tommy cut him off before it got painful. “Look. Billy and Teddy were really against killing anyone. Nate said he was, but he'd killed before, you could see it in his eyes. Then he left and became Kang, and Vision and Cassie died. I have no problem killing someone if they deserve it. Theologically, I mean. Hell, that's what I was _trained_ to do, in juvie. Billy wouldn't understand, but I do. Hell, I'd kill to protect you, if I had to.” And he would. And he was pretty damn sure that if it came down to it, Billy would fight to protect Teddy too – even kill for him. Not that he'd _ever_ tell his twin that. Billy was unstable at the best of times. No sense throwing him over the edge if it wasn't necessary.

“So, this errand you gotta run for Raquel, is it Black Sun business?” He tried to sound nonchalant. His boyfriend was in the alien mob.

Noh-Varr grinned. “Yeah. I have to see a guy about a thing.”

“About a thing, huh? Well, I'd better come with you, in case this 'thing' gives you trouble.”

Noh-Varr punched him lightly in the shoulder for that. “Just don't tell Raquel I brought you. She'll try to recruit you. She's already asked me if you would fight in the pit some time.”

“Uh-uh. No way. I'm good, I've been in enough 'groups' to last me a lifetime, I don't need to be in a gang. I'll stick with you – I'm 100% property of Noh-Varr,” he said seriously.

“Oh yeah?” Noh-Varr asked with a hungry gleam in his eyes. He very obviously started at Tommy's eyes and worked his way down, undressing him with a heated gaze.

“Yep.” Tommy loved the effect he had on Noh-Varr. He'd never had another lover like him, that was for sure.

“Well then, let's get this errand done. I might have some spare time before work.” Noh-Varr took off down a side alley, not quite running at his top speed.

Tommy laughed and followed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by the lovely DangerousCommieSubversive!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings as always for explicit language. I don't think there are any other potential triggers in this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

Chapter 8

**//Proximity alert. Security threat level: 3. Security threat level: 3. Noh-Varr, get up. Security threat level: 3.//**

Noh-Varr groaned and rolled over, not opening his eyes. He'd barely just gotten to sleep; who the fuck could be bothering him now? “Identify.”

**//Plex memory systems identify threat as William Kaplan, aka Wiccan, and Dorrek VIII, aka Theodore Altman aka Hulkling. Threat level: 3.//**

Tommy stirred beside him. “God dammit.”

“Looks like you were followed.” Noh-Varr said irritably. Couldn't Tommy's family leave them alone for a single afternoon? Was that really too much to ask?

“No.” Tommy argued, sitting up with bleary eyes. “Billy can do locator spells. It's seriously annoying.”

“I'll upgrade Plex to block magical probes.” Noh-Varr promised.

**//Proximity alert. Threat approaching door.//**

“Temporary downgrade to threat level 1 Plex.” Noh-Varr said. Then, turning to Tommy, he said, “I probably shouldn't shoot your relatives.” 

“Shit. I don't have my binder on.” Tommy said, his voice still thick with sleep. “Where the hell is it? And my shirt – where is my shirt?”

Tommy wasn't going to be moving at human speed, much less his normal mutant speed, for at least twenty minutes. So Noh-Varr forced himself awake, shutting off the fatigue centers of his brain and coaxing his body to produce just a little more adrenaline. He could sleep later. He grabbed a thick, warm sweatshirt out of his plastic nightstand/wardrobe, and handed it to Tommy.

“Here, wear mine. It'll hide everything till they're gone.”

“Mmh. Smells nice,” Tommy agreed, sleepily pulling it over his head.

There was a knock at the door.

“I'm coming.” Noh-Varr growled, slipping out of bed. He didn't bother to put on a shirt or pants. He had gray boxers on – that was enough. It wasn't like he'd invited them over or anything.

He opened the door and glared out at his unwelcome guests. “Yeah?”

William managed to look flustered. Though that may have had something to do with being eye level with his very nicely sculpted chest, as Tommy so often put it. Dorrek looked annoyed, but that could have been the way William was staring at him. Noh-Varr couldn't help a little smirk. Jealous much?

“Um,” William squawked.

“We're looking for Tommy,” Dorrek finished, his skin flushing green and growing armor, though not enough to ruin his clothes.

“Teddy, what are you doing?” William hissed.

“Being careful,” Dorrek snapped. “I don't think there's a single human in this building besides you.”

“Billy's not human. 'M not either. No humans here,” Tommy informed them sleepily, appearing at the door. He casually slung his arm around Noh-Varr's waist.

“You're not seriously dating this guy are you?” Billy asked his brother incredulously. Apparently Teddy hadn't told him about the Incident.

Tommy's eyes narrowed. “ _You're_ dating an alien too.”

“Worse,” Noh-Varr said. “He's dating a _Skrull_.” Noh-Varr's lips curled back in distaste.

Dorrek actually growled at him in response. He'd grown several inches, was in mortal danger of tearing all his clothes, all his fingers had extended into claws, and he had his very muscular arm around Billy's shoulders.

“Um...guys? Can we take this someone other than the hall?” Billy was looking pleadingly at Tommy.

Tommy sighed and said, “Plex, temporary security override, William Kaplan and Dorrek VIII, security threat: 0.”

**//Temporary security level set. Entrance is now permitted.//** Plex didn't sound very happy about it.

“You have an alien Jarvis in your apartment?” Billy asked incredulously. 

Noh-Varr snorted contemptuously. Plex was _so_ much better than that pompous piece of AI. He grudgingly moved out of the way to let them by. If Tommy wanted them here, they could come in, as long as it didn't become a regular thing. He watched the faces of his two unwelcome guests as they looked around at his living arrangements.

When Tommy first saw his place, he described it as 'a really shitty apartment in a bad neighborhood.' Noh-Varr wasn't sure he agreed that his apartment was 'shitty,' but it was located in an impoverished all-alien neighborhood. And most of his neighbors were bounty-hunters, mobsters, whores, or criminals, so that sort of made sense. If Billy hadn't come in with a half-Skrull, he definitely would have run into trouble in Noh-Varr's apartment complex.

His apartment was a single room, divided into a bedroom and a kitchen. He had no living room – his free time, when he had any, was spent either hanging out with Tommy somewhere, or in the apartment with Tommy, where they screwed each others' brains out. The complex had a community bathroom and shower for each floor, which Noh-Varr took it upon himself to clean regularly so he could stand to use it.

He did his best to keep his apartment really clean, but the ceiling would always have mold stains, just like the walls had had before he'd painted over them with a cheap gray stucco paint – Tommy couldn't bear white walls, not after his stint in juvie. The floor was covered in old blankets and rugs that Noh-Varr bought both to keep it warmer on his feet for much cheaper than paying for carpet, and because the tile on the floor underneath was disintegrating. There were iron grates on the windows, and the blinds over them had broken and missing slats. Noh-Varr had made some dark brown curtains himself from some cheap fabric, but he didn't know how much that really improved the atmosphere. He'd only done it to block the daylight while he was sleeping, since he was on an almost nocturnal sleep schedule.

He had a second hand mattress – queen sized, comfortable enough, but old. After Tommy had started sleeping over he'd invested in some decent striped sheets. The blankets were an odd assortment of whatever had been cheapest at the thrift store at the time, and were currently thrown haphazardly around the bed from their rude awakening. His and Tommy's clothes were also spread around from the night before, a fact that did not escape Billy, whose face turned bright red.

Noh-Varr had a dresser beside the bed that held his limited selection of clothes, plus a few of Tommy's outfits and their sex toys. Noh-Varr almost hoped Billy was nosy enough to look – it would serve him right for barging in here. On top of the dresser was an old-fashioned alarm clock and a camping lantern he used for a light.

In the 'kitchen' side of the room was a cheap plastic folding table with two stools, the second of which he'd gotten when he started dating Tommy. The sink didn't work, so he had a plastic tub set into it, which he used to wash his two sets of dishes in before emptying it in the drain in the hall's bathroom. He had a single pot and a strainer for making canned foods or pasta, and one plastic stirring spoon. He bought water by the gallon for drinking, cleaning and cooking, and there was a stack of gallon jugs next to the kitchen counter in the far corner of the room. 

Noh-Varr had no electricity in his apartment. He paid a utility bill each month, but the electricity didn't go to run any kind of lights or appliances. He used it to run Plex, and maintain the security system on his apartment without standing out on the power grid. Plex 2.5 was a pale shadow of his former self, but he was equipped with all of Noh-Varr's memories, and while he couldn't hold an Omni-wave for more than a few seconds, he made an excellent security system. Even if he did wake Noh-Varr up after only two hours of sleep for visits from annoying relatives.

Since he had no electricity in his apartment, he didn't have a fridge, and kept no perishable food in the apartment. Actually, he hadn't ever kept much food around until he'd started dating Tommy. He split the apartment complex's organic garbage with three of the other residents, which made up the bulk of his meals, and for anything else he ate at the club where he worked. There was a bottle of extra-strength Scope in his nightstand that he used after eating, especially when Tommy was planning on coming over. There was no quicker way to ensure that he wouldn't be getting laid than having 'garbage breath,' which he'd learned the hard way.

Billy and Dorrek both had a look on their face that implied that they were expecting cockroaches to crawl out of the woodwork any moment. They wouldn't see any. While the building was indeed infested with the creatures, he didn't have any in his apartment. Noh-Varr _was_ part cockroach, and he gave off pheromones that his smaller kin found terrifying (though his boyfriend found his scent intoxicating), so any space that he frequented for long periods of time was essentially cockroach-proof. Once he'd told his employer that, she'd given him a raise.

He also had a cat. Sort of. It had just shown up one day, and Noh-Varr hadn't bothered to make it leave. It kept the apartment complex free of mice, and it liked Tommy. The big orange tabby was crouched on the window sill at the moment, but looked over at the intruders with a glare that matched how Noh-Varr was feeling. The cat yawned widely, jumped down and crossed the room. It rubbed itself possessively against both Tommy and Noh-Varr, and growled at Dorrek on its way over to the door. Noh-Varr let it out, and the cat stalked down the hall.

After checking out Noh-Varr's place, Billy's face had gotten very polite, in a strained sort of way that meant that he couldn't understand how anyone could manage to live here. His eyes had grown huge with shock, and he'd gripped his boyfriend's arm for security. Dorrek, on the other hand, had deflated. He had shrunk back to his normal size, though he was still noticeably green. He looked sad and increasingly uncomfortable. Noh-Varr wanted to snarl at them. He liked his apartment – it was cheap, and clean, and it had everything he needed. Well, except running water. And hot showers. And Tommy would have been happier with a television. But there was no need to _pity_ him for it. He made good money at his job. He just chose to spend it on something other than fancy living arrangements.

“You can sit on a stool, Billy. Teddy’s gonna have to stand - we don't have anything that'll bear his weight. Why don't you make coffee, Noh-Varr?” Tommy sounded perfectly calm, but that was probably because he wasn't awake yet.

Noh-Varr went over to his counter and turned on the kerosene burner he used for cooking. He filled his rusty blue tea kettle with water from a half-empty gallon jug, and set it on the burner to heat up. He pulled four insulated paper cups and put a spoonful of instant coffee grounds in each. Then he turned around to watch his unwelcome guests again.

Billy was siting at Noh-Varr's rickety table, fidgeting uncomfortable, and Teddy was beside him, with a protective hand on his shoulder. His nails were still extended into claws, though he didn't have a deliberately hostile look on his face. Noh-Varr wondered how much control the half-Skrull had over his shifting.

“So...um...Tommy. We came looking for you because Mom is really worried about you.” Billy said.

Tommy made a rude noise. “I really doubt Wanda cares who I'm sleeping with or where I'm staying. Unless you're talking about my biological mom, in which case I _know_ she doesn't care, cuz she's dead.”

“He means Mrs. Kaplan,” Teddy clarified awkwardly, after the venom in Tommy's voice.

“ _Oh._ Well, she’s not _my_ mother,” Tommy said, pulling out the other stool and throwing himself down on it sulkily. “She threatened to call the cops on Noh-Varr. She wanted to charge him with rape, even though I'm almost eighteen and over the age of consent. So I left.”

The sound of the tea kettle shrieking saved Billy and Teddy from having to respond to that statement. Noh-Varr turned the burner off and filled each cup, stirring them with a wooden stir stick. 

“You want sugar? I only have powdered cream,” he asked, in the general direction of his guests. Noh-var drank his coffee black, but Tommy liked his with ridiculous amounts of sugar and cream.

“Um...one sugar for me, please.” Billy said.

“Lots of cream.” Teddy said, even managing to sound polite. He was still green.

Noh-Varr stirred in the requested elements, and then served them their coffee. He chewed on the stir stick before eating it, washing it down with a gulp of black coffee. That was apparently awkward enough for Billy to start talking again so he didn't have to think about Noh-Varr eating processed wood.

“She really is worried about you. And the school's been calling all week, which doesn't help. She was going to report you missing, but I told her we'd find you.”

“You've been missing school, Tommy?” Noh-Varr asked. Those words made him feel incredibly old. Even though they were comparatively about the same age, species-wise, Noh-Varr had turned 37 in Earth years that spring. Normally, he didn't feel the age gap, but he was really feeling it now. Kree finished school and entered the military by age 12. Humans were...not like that.

“So? It's not like I'm gonna graduate anyways, even with the summer classes. Almost eighteen and I'm still a freshman. I'm dropping out in three months anyway.”

“But-”

“Not all of us can be the good kid Billy,” Tommy said bitterly.

Noh-Varr moved over behind him and rubbed his back in circles between his shoulder blades. “You're fine the way you are,” he said.

“No, I'm not,” Tommy muttered darkly, and Noh-Varr knew they weren't talking about school any more.

“No, but you will be,” he said softly. They'd talked about this. As soon as he turned 18, Tommy would be able to seriously talk to his doctor about gender reassignment surgery. Noh-Varr had already agreed to pay for it, though it had taken months for Tommy to agree. What else did he have to spend his money on?

“So...” Billy tried again, “What are the chances you'll come back to the house? I _really_ don't want to be stuck between you and my mom, if I don't have to,” he quickly amended, “I'll totally be on your side. It's just...she's my _mom_.”

“You're used to doing what she wants,” Teddy agreed.

“And you're the fucking poster boy for model adopted son, Altman,” Tommy growled. He was starting to wake up now. Coffee always helped with that. Noh-Varr went and got him another cup.

“It's only three months Tommy. She _is_ your legal guardian,” Billy said.

Tommy scowled. “Fine. Fine! I'll come home during the week. Noh has to work at night anyways so I won't see him if I have to go to school. But I'm staying with him on his days off. And she's not grounding me.”

“Not like she could stop you from seeing me,” Noh-Varr said smugly, setting another cup of coffee in front of his boyfriend. He was very proud of Tommy's powers.

“Exactly.”

Billy let out an exasperated sigh. “I'm not gonna lie. This isn't how I thought this would go.”

“I thought it would be much worse,” Teddy said helpfully.

“ _If_ you're done, some of us didn't get to bed until 7 this morning, and would like to sleep,” Noh-Varr said. He casually ate his coffee cup, because he was hungry, and he wanted to see their reaction.

“Uh...yeah. Right. We should go,” Billy stammered. “C'mon Teddy, Tommy.”

“It's a weekend. Noh-Varr will drop me off at your house Sunday night before he goes to work,” Tommy said firmly. “I'm _not_ coming home before then. And you'd better not tell her where I'm staying. Humans get eaten around here.”

Billy grew pale.

“He's not kidding,” Noh-Varr said, eating Tommy's cup slowly. “We handle our own problems here. Humans aren't welcome.”

“I won't tell her,” Billy insisted, his eyes on Noh-Varr's mouth and the way he didn't flinch while ingesting paper products. “But I'll see you at school Monday, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Um...See you later,” Billy said. He didn't quite stand up and drag Teddy to the middle of the room. His eyes glowed a brilliant blue color, and they disappeared.

Noh-Varr frowned. He ate the two other cups, drinking the coffee Teddy had hardly touched, and wrinkling his nose at the lingering scent of Skrull.

“Plex, remind me to upgrade security to prevent people from teleporting into the apartment.”

**//We will see if we can figure out a solution Noh-Varr,//** Plex agreed, very obviously _not_ adding 'We told you so.' **//Temporary security levels reset.//**

“I'm going back to bed.” Noh-Varr grumbled. He crawled onto his mattress and pulled the covers up over his head.

Tommy lay down beside him. He knew Tommy wouldn't go back to sleep after two cups of coffee, but it was nice to have him strip back down to his boxers and press himself against Noh-Varr’s side. Noh-Varr's mind easily associated Tommy with 'safe and comfortable,' and it was much easier to fall asleep than he thought it would be.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Saturday, September 26th, 2015

<Weak!> The blue-skinned Kree snarled at him, as he brought up a fist and back-handed Noh-Varr strong enough to break his jaw.

Noh-Varr spat blood on the floor of the fighting ring, and tried to get his head back into the fight. That was difficult when his vision was swimming, and his skull ached from repeated blows. Somewhere during the fight, his neural shunt had kicked out too, leaving him reeling from the pain of his wounds, instead of just converting it to some other form of sensation. Tol-Nok was a fierce Kree assassin, and would have been a challenging fight even if Noh-Varr had been in top condition. Which he was very much not in, right now. He'd lost his last two fights badly, and was only standing because of a mixture of adrenaline and an over-indulgence of Spike.

<Unworthy!> Tol-Nok came out of nowhere, his foot sweeping out and catching Noh-Varr off guard, and he fell heavily to the ground. 

He tried to push himself up on his arm, which had been broken two nights ago and hadn't had a chance to heal yet. It didn't bear his weight, and he didn't get out of the way in time before Tol-Nock brought his foot down on Noh-Varr's leg, with his enormous weight behind it. Noh-Varr heard his femur snap, and swore he could hear Tommy screaming. Or was that him screaming? He couldn't really tell.

<Pathetic.> Tol-Nok spat. He grabbed Noh-Varr by the back of the neck and hauled him up to face him.

Noh-Varr spat at him, but Tol-Nok dodged easily. It wasn't like he was expecting that to work, but he had hoped the other Kree hadn't known he was nano-active. It was about the only way he was going to pull this fight back around. He struggled half-heartedly in Tol-Nok's grip, but the blue Kree's grip was like steel on his neck. Even with his gene splicing, he wasn't as strong as the enhanced assassin. Tol-Nok was _huge_ for a Kree, and if it wasn't for Kree breeding laws, he would have sworn they had crossed him with a Skrull.

Tol-Nok dragged him over to the edge of the concrete fighting ring.  <You are a disgrace.> He spat at Noh-Varr, and slammed his head into the concrete.

Noh-Varr's hands came up around the arm holding his neck and scrabbled at it, trying to get him to let go. He didn't care how pathetic he looked right now. He saw stars when the assassin slammed his head into the concrete again. He's already had a concussion – a few more blows like that and his skull would crack open. He-he needed to breathe. Couldn't the fucking assassin see he'd won already? Fuck, this wasn't Hala, they didn't fight to the death here. Someone had cleared that up for him first, right?

Fuck, he couldn't breathe.

“Get _off_ of him, you psychotic fucker!” Tommy snarled.

He heard an impressive explosion, and suddenly there wasn't a hand on his throat any more. His body made an unfortunate re-acquaintance with the concrete floor though, and his head cracked against the cement again. That made his vision go completely black for a moment, and he struggled to retain consciousness. Raquel was going to _murder_ him later for Tommy interfering with a fight. That is, if he survived this. He was dizzy, and kept seeing suspicious dots in his vision. Everything was blurry, and he couldn't make out what anyone was saying over the roar of blood in his ears.

“Noh-Varr! Hey! Don't you fucking dare pass out on me until we see the doctor.” Tommy's scent in his nostrils, and his voice in Noh-Varr's ears. He couldn't really see anything though. Definite skull damage. 

<Tommy? I...I can't get up.> Wait. That wasn't English. Fuck. His brain was just too scrambled to translate.

“I've got you.” Tommy said, and he was being gently lifted in his lover's arms and carried somewhere. Noh-Varr fought to stay awake, even though all he wanted to do now was sleep, and try to heal.

xxx

Tommy was not good at waiting. When he'd seen that bastard of a Kree killing Noh-Varr instead of accepting that he'd won the fight, he'd looked at Raquel with murder in his eyes. She had glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, and given a very slight nod. He got that she wasn't allowed to interfere with the fight herself, but he was damn well going to.

He'd raced down to the ring, appearing right in front of that bastard, using all the force that he could gather at going near the speed of sound and barreled right into the guy. The blue Kree went flying across the pit, losing his hold on Noh-varr in the process. When he tried to get up, Tommy raised his hands and blew up the rubble right in front of his face. If that bastard tried to touch Noh-varr again, it wouldn't be rocks he'd be exploding.

Noh-Varr was not doing well. He was bleeding from just about everywhere, and there was a bloody mat of hair on the back of his head from where he'd been slammed repeated into the cement. His eyes weren't focusing on Tommy, and he was slurring words in Kree at him.

“Don't you fucking dare pass out on me until we see the doctor.” Tommy snarled. He didn't know if it was different for Kree, but passing out with a head injury was a _really bad thing_.

He scooped Noh-Varr up into his arms, even though really, you should move people with head injuries. Even when he walked, he still walked faster than normal people, and the damn medic wasn't going to get here fast enough, and anyway, they never treated the fighters out in front of the crowd. So he put a new meaning to the term speed-walking as he hurried Noh-Varr back to the fighter's lounge and onto the medic's table.

The medic appeared only a few moments after Tommy had arrived. She had probably headed there as soon as Tommy had headed into the ring. She was a very good doctor, which was the only reason Tommy let her anywhere near his lover. He had an inherent distrust of doctors ever since his stint in juvie. But Shi'lar was kind, and knew more about aliens than almost anyone. She also had a weak mutant healing gift, which she used in conjunction with her knowledge of alien anatomy to heal the pit fighters, and any of Black Sun's members who got injured in one of their less-than-legal operations.

She was swearing as she looked Noh-Varr over. She held her hands around his head and a soft blue light emitted from them. Tommy couldn't see what she was doing, because there was so much blood on Noh-Varr's skull, but he hoped it wasn't too late. Another hit on his head, and Noh-Varr's skull would have probably cracked open.

Noh-Varr groaned, and slowly blinked his eyes. He asked Shi'lar something in Kree, to which she replied something that sounded very condescending. Noh-Varr looked away.

“What's going on? Ishegoingtobeokay?” Tommy asked insistently.

Shi'lar took her hands away from Noh-Varr's head and turned her glare on him. “He is very badly hurt, Tommy. If you cannot be quiet while I am working, you may wait in the hall.”

“Sorry.” He said. “Can I help?”

She sighed. “Yes. Come and hold his leg so I can set it. I have started the healing process in his skull and stopped the bleeding of his most serious wounds, but he still needs his bones set and stitches in several places.”

Tommy moved closer to Noh-Varr's bed and placed his hands where Shi'lar told him to. “I'm going to have Acelain come in and put his bone back in place.” She told him. “Neither of us has the strength needed to pull it into place otherwise. You'll be responsible for holding him down. The pain will make him want to get away from us.”

“But he can turn off his pain responses.” Tommy said.

“Not right now.” She remarked grimly, and he shuddered. Noh-varr must be hurt badly.

The door to the room opened, and Acelain walked in. The telekinetic was tall and wiry, like Tommy, but without the muscle that he or Noh-varr had. Since his strength came from his ability, he didn't use his actual muscles much. The telekinetic came to Noh-Varr's bedside, and looked to Shi'lar for direction.

“Go ahead Acelain.” She directed.

He nodded, and stretched his hands out towards Noh-Varr's leg. His eyes unfocused, and there was a terrible sound of bone grating. Noh-Varr arched up off the bed and screamed, thrashing in Tommy's grip. Then the bone snapped together, and Noh-varr passed out on the table.

“Thank you.” Shi'lar said. “If you're up for it, he also has a dislocated shoulder, and a broken arm.”

“Just show me where.” Acelain rasped.

Tommy held Noh-Varr's shoulders while Acelain relocated Noh-Varr's shoulder and set his arm. Then the telekinetic helped them hold Noh-Varr up while Shi'lar taped the Kree's ribs and splinted both of his broken bones. Tommy even helped clean up all the blood to get him ready for his stitches, but he had to leave while she stitched him up. Seeing her putting a needle through muscle made him nauseous.

He stood outside the room with Acelain, while the telekinetic smoked. “Thank you, for helping.”

Acelain nodded.

“I need to talk to Raquel.” Tommy said. “He can't fight again. Not right now.”

“She'll be here soon.” Acelain said. “She's in her office.” He jerked his chin in the direction of the corner room, next to the lounge. 

“I'm going to go talk to her.” He said, and sped off before Acelain could stop him.

He vibrated himself through the door. Raquel was sitting calmly at her desk, working at paperwork. “You can't keep doing this to him.” Tommy said.

“I'm sure I don't know what you mean.” Raquel said smoothly.

“He wouldn't have gotten hurt this badly if you'd pulled him after his first loss!” Tommy snarled.

“Fighting in the pit is his job.” She replied

“He fights in the pit twice as much as anyone else. He's always got a broken bone. All he _does_ when we're not here is sleep. He needs a vacation. He needs time to rest and heal. And when he starts fighting again, have him only fight on the weekends.”

“After how much money he lost me this weekend? He's going to have three weeks off, unpaid. And a week of mandatory re-training.”

“You'll fucking pay him.” Tommy snapped. “I told you not to let him fight tonight. He had a concussion and a broken arm, and you made him fight anyway. Of course he fucking lost! If you hadn't had him fight, he wouldn't have been hurt, and then he wouldn't need so long to heal.”

“Do you want a job?”

“What?!”

“Do you want a job. After you turn 18. You drive a hard bargain, you're loyal, and you're clearly not afraid of me, even though you should be.”

“Are you _recruiting_ me?”

Raquel just smiled. “Three weeks off, paid. But _you_ can be responsible for seeing that he actually rests and does the mandatory re-training. And I'll see about cutting down his fights. He's very popular.”

“He'll be more popular when he goes back to winning his matches.”

“True.”

“Right. Well. Goodbye, then.” Tommy vibrated himself out.

Acelain was at the door, also wearing that infuriating smile.

“I don't want to hear it! I'm not joining the alien mob. You're all insane.”

When he returned to the fighter's room, Noh-varr was awake, with a vacant look on his face, watching the doctor wrap his leg. He was obviously drugged out of his mind.

“I just need to finish wrapping this and then you can take him home.” Shi'lar told him. “It's a cast/splint hybrid. The wrap hardens after exposure to oxygen, making a thin cast that can be worn under clothes, but strong enough to hold his leg in place. He will need crutches, which I will have sent to your apartment. I am also giving you a bottle of pain medicine. He needs to take them every eight ours until his own natural painkillers kick in. You need to make sure he gets plenty of rest,and drinks about five times as many fluids and foods as normal to aid the healing process. When he's not asleep, he needs to be sitting with his leg up. And don't let him take his arm out of that sling for the next three days until his shoulder heals. The cast on his left arm doesn't come off for two weeks. He's going to be pretty much helpless for the next week or so, and he won't like that.”

Tommy could imagine. He wouldn't like it at all if he had to stay in bed for two weeks and rest, unable to walk without crutches. Unable to _run_. It would be torture. Hell, it had been, the one time that – no. He wasn’t going to think about that.

“C'mon then. Let's get you home.” He said, and lifted Noh-Varr up into his arms as gently as he could. Noh-Varr just smiled vapidly at him and laid his head on Tommy's chest.

“Oh yeah. They've got you on the good drugs.”

He ran them home at less than his top speed, careful not to bump or jostle him against anything. As long as he was careful, he wouldn't damage anything he was carrying, but he wasn't taking chances with Noh-Varr in his current condition. He was – really hurt. Helpless, even. He'd never. His teammates had been banged up before, but nothing like this. Well, Teddy might have taken as much damage, but he healed in _minutes_ , so that didn't count, and anyways Billy usually took care of anything serious. Even with his freaky alien healing, it would be _weeks_ before his lover was anything like himself again. He'd probably panic when he wasn't high any more. Hell. Tommy was panicking, and he wasn’t the one who had two world governments out to get him. Noh-Varr had a price on his head, and no-one had tried for him since he'd stated dating him, but news traveled fast in the underground and when it got out how badly Noh-Varr was hurt -

He slowed down to normal speed as they approached the apartment complex, because Tahl, the doorman, took his job seriously, and you just didn't try to get past a guy with that many eyes. Even when you were carrying your lover, who'd been beaten within an inch of his life. Because then he's call building security on you, and Tommy did _not_ feel like taking on two Super Skrulls right now.

Tahl took in their appearance wit hall the serenity a guy with twenty eyes could. He certainly noted Noh-Varr's condition – and he still had that drugged out expression on, dammit. And Tommy tried to shove down the panic, but he knew Tahl had seen it.

“You don't need to worry, Tommy.” Tahl said, and Tommy barely suppressed a start, because he hadn't even known Tahl _could_ talk. “We won't let anything happen to Noh-Varr here.”

Tahl pointed to the graffiti scrawled facade of the building, and he'd never paid enough attention to notice, but yes, that _was_ a Black Sun logo, made of a dozen other graffiti gang signs. Well, damn.

“Thank you.” He said earnestly, and went inside.

The elevator was, of course, broken, so Tommy had to make his way up four flights of stairs. Every single door he passed opened, and mutants and aliens he'd never even seen before stepped out and made some kind of sign at him no, at Noh-Varr, and Tommy could only assume it was some kind of respect symbol because - 

They all had Black Sun tattoos. All of them. Even the Skrulls, and some of the tenants he knew Noh-Varr didn't get along with, they all had them. Most of them were tattooed on hands, sometimes between their fingers where they couldn't be seen without the respect motion. It was surreal.

When Tommy reached their room, Plex opened the door. Tommy laid Noh-Varr down gently on the bed, and piled all their assorted blankets up on top of him. Noh-Varr smiled at him, and settled comfortably back on the mattress. He was asleep in seconds.

Tommy dragged on of their stools over next to the bed and sat on it. Then, he slowly lowered his head into his hands, and let himself freak out. He couldn’t deal with this. He needed – well. He didn't really know what he needed but it sure as hell wasn't to have Noh-Varr be laying there mostly dead on their mattress, so pumped full of drugs it didn't even hurt any more. Noh-Varr was smart and funny and strong and always there when Tommy needed him. Tommy didn't know how to take care of someone, certainly not an alien, and now he was responsible for his lover. If Noh-Varr didn't recover it would be his fault. If he was permanently disabled, if he didn't heal properly, that would be on _Tommy_. He just. He didn't know if he could take that. He'd never even had a puppy before.

Before he'd had a chance to completely lose it, Plex's proximity alarm went off. / **/Delivery for you, Thomas.//** Plex said.

“Really? Um. Thank you Plex.” He got up and went to the door.

It was Kel. He had a pair of crutches, a cane, and a large bag full of assorted items. “Can I come in?” The boy asked.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Tommy took the crutches and the cane from Kel, and set them against the wall inside their apartment.

Kel came in and headed for the table, stopping by Noh-Varr's bedside to flash the sign of respect. The cat slid back into the apartment just before Plex shut the door, and wrapped herself around Kel's ankles in greeting. Kel patted her absently, before setting out everything he'd brought on the table for Tommy to see.

“I brought over everything Shi'lar asked for. Most of this is medicine especially for him – it only works on Kree, and sometimes Skrulls. Not that you would, but make sure not to take any of it; this stuff is toxic to most other races, humans and mutants included.”

Tommy nodded. He already knew that most human medicine didn't work on Noh-Varr, so it made complete sense that Kree medicine would be bad for him. He wasn't really in to popping pills, and even if he had been, he certainly wouldn't have taken Noh-Varr's medicine.

“There's a couple of bottles of assorted vitamins – they're liquid gel, so he'll absorb them faster. Shi'lar's already arranged for me to bring food over every day, so you don't have to worry about that. And somebody mentioned the hot water getting fixed; I was sort of eavesdropping on my way up.”

Hot water? That would be amazing. Probably the only good thing about this whole damn incident. “Thanks Kel. I really appreciate it.”

“Anything we can do to get Noh-Varr back on his feet.” Kel said sincerely. “Is there anything else you need?”

“Um.” He tried to think past the panic that still lurked in his head. “Yeah. A recliner, or something. So I don't have to sit by his bedside all day on a stool. That'd be really helpful. And a cooler with ice in it, so we can keep milk and protein shakes and all that. He's really going to need that to build his muscle and bone back.”

“Sure. I can do that. I'll have all that by the time you get up this afternoon.” Kel headed back towards the door. “Try to get some sleep, okay?” The kid seemed to sense his tension.

“Yeah, thanks.” He ruffled Kel's hair, the way he'd seen Noh-Varr do it. “I'll be fine. See you around, okay?”

“Bye!” Kel smiled, made one last salute in Noh-Varr's direction, and let himself out.

The cat meowed loudly at him, and then sauntered over to the bed to situate herself by Noh-Varr's head. Tommy sighed, trying to let out some of his tension. He stripped down, pulling out a pair of clean boxers and one of Noh-Varr's t-shirts. He re-dressed, headed to the bathroom and brushed his teeth and used the toilet before heading back to their room.

He slid carefully into bed beside Noh-Varr, pressing himself up against him everywhere he could without touching one of Noh-Varr's injuries. “...I love you.” Tommy whispered. “Get better soon, okay?”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am quickly running out of buffer for this fic. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do weekly updates much longer, but I'll try!! I've got 2 more chapters half done, so we'll see how it goes!
> 
> Warnings: Some homophobic/transphobic references in this chapter, and as always Tommy is a potty mouth.

Chapter 10

Wednesday, September 30th, 2015

“Shit, Noh-Varr, what's wrong?” Tommy asked. “You look like you're freaking out!”

“I have bad news.” Noh-Varr said. “I received a notice in my mailbox today. It's a court summons.”

Tommy paled.

“Your guardian is filing a restraining order against me. The court appearance is today.”

“Fuck. I heard her talking about it, but I didn't think she'd go through with it. She hasn't said anything about it on the days we've both been home. How are we going to get you to the courthouse? You still can't walk on that leg.”

“Tommy, I can't go.” He said seriously.

“But if you don't go, the charges will go through without being challenged!”

“Tommy. I'm an illegal alien. I'm the third in command for Black Sun. If I show up in that courtroom, SHIELD will grab me for sure.”

“But you work at a night club, all the time. There's no way they don't know you're there.”

“SHIELD isn't going to do a raid on one of the only mutant refuges in the city, the PR would be a nightmare. Not to mention its in the center of Black Sun territory. We keep the alien population in line. Shield knows who we are, and they also know what will happen if Black Sun isn't there. No one wants that chaos. But the courthouse isn't in Black Sun territory, and this is a civil matter. If I step one foot in that courthouse they'll haul me away.”

“That's not fair.”

Noh-Varr shrugged. “No. But technically I'm not allowed on Earth. My position in Black Sun keeps them from hunting me down, which is better than how it was before I joined. I mostly stay in our territory, and they leave me alone. Sometimes they forward Raquel bounties, if there's a particularly dangerous alien that needs taken care of.”

Tommy shook his head. “SHIELD does whatever the hell they want. The Avengers tried to lock Billy up once, did you know that? They're afraid of him.”

That didn’t surprise Noh-Varr at all. For all that the Avengers claimed to be protectors of justice, they seemed to feel threatened by an enormously large number of mutants and aliens, simply because of their 'potential for destruction.'

“ _You_ can go to the courthouse.” He said abruptly.

“What?” Tommy looked stunned, as if he hadn't considered that could even be an issue.

“If you want to challenge the bill. You can go to court. You are seventeen, almost eighteen. If you show up and protest, they will probably throw the case out of court. Legally the only way she can keep you from seeing me is if you have a record.”

Noh-Varr had been studying human law in earnest since he stated dating Tommy seriously. He didn't want a misstep on his part keeping them from seeing each other. He was going to apply for citizenship as soon as he could, though with his track record with the Avengers, it wasn't likely that SHIELD would grant his request, even with a sufficient bribe and Raquel's army of lawyers behind him.

“But my record is sealed!” Tommy exclaimed. “Unless...she got them to unseal it. Which would be...I did community service, and everything. She can't _do_ that.” Tommy was angry now. That meant that he would go.

“Raquel will provide a lawyer, if you decide to go. She will be there either way, but the order will probably go through without you.” He didn't want to pressure Tommy, but things would be much better if he decided to do this.

Tommy looked uneasy. 'I don't have anything to wear.”

_That_ , at least, he could do something about. “Let me make a call.”

Tommy blanched, and then started laughing. “You have _no_ idea how ridiculous that sounds. I can't believe I'm dating a mob boss. Speaking of which, you dress all wrong for a mob boss. I need to help you re-work your wardrobe if you're going to say things like that.”

Noh-Varr just glared at him.

“Yeah, yeah, make your call then.” Tommy seemed to have relaxed somewhat, which made the jab at Noh-Varr's continued misunderstanding of human culture easier to bear.

Black Sun's people were very dedicated to keeping their fellow mutants and aliens out of human jails. Within ten minutes of placing the phone call, a mutant tailor was at their door with a selection of suits for Tommy to try on. He had six arms that took Tommy's measurements quickly and efficiently, and then he picked out a suit, made Tommy try it on, and had the adjustments done within the hour. Shoes in Tommy's exact size were delivered before Tommy was finished getting dressed. Tommy seemed embarrassed about his obvious gender differences, but Maurice didn't even blink when he pulled on his binder and packer before getting dressed in the finished suit.

Raquel sent a limo for Tommy. Crystal, who had apparently adopted that name as her own, was the one to knock on the door and let them know it was there. She was going to drive him there and bring him home, and she assured Noh-Varr that Raquel was taking this charge very seriously, and she would do everything she could to make sure it did not affect him or Tommy.

All Noh-Varr could do was wait. He felt completely useless, just sitting there in the new armchair, with his foot propped up on an ottoman. His shoulder had healed, and he was out of the sling, but his arm was still in the cast, even though he'd complained to both Tommy and Shi'lar that it was healed enough to cut the offending piece of plaster off. His leg was still wrapped tightly in its cast, and it ached. It would take weeks to heal the bone, even with taking in a bolstered amount of milk and vitamins. The cast itched, and not being able to move around without crutches made him cranky.

His neural shunt was still broken, and the unnatural pain made him even more irritable. He knew he should be sleeping so he could heal, but he couldn't sleep while Tommy was fighting for the right to be with him. He also had no interest in taking more painkillers – anything powerful enough to dull his sense of pain also knocked him completely on his ass, and he needed to be awake when Tommy returned.

Instead of laying down like he knew he probably should be, he got up and limped over to the cupboards and got out all their snack food, bringing it back over to the chair. He also fished around on the floor next to the chair for the bottles of vitamins Shi'lar had provided. There was already a bottle of nutrient-enhanced water sitting beside his chair, so he sat back down, ignoring the throb in his leg from just those short movements, and started working his way through all their food.

After all their food was gone, he took double the prescribed amount of vitamins, washing them all down with the entire gallon of nutrient water. Then he settled himself onto his mattress, and closed his eyes. He couldn't sleep, but he _could_ focus on healing his body. It happened naturally, as long as he ate enough and rested, but he could also focus on healing specific parts of himself if he had enough time and nothing broke his concentration. 

He needed to heal his neural shunt. The pain was interfering with his natural haling process, since his body wasn't used to it. And the painkillers made him feel more exhausted, instead of less. He didn't like being muddle headed. It stressed him out – made him feel weak and powerless. It was worse than the pain in some ways, because he could still function through the pain – even run on his broken leg – if he had to. And he couldn't stand that look of terror that Tommy got in his eyes when Noh-Varr was so obviously helpless.

He concentrated on healing his skull – sealing up the multiple skull fractures, reducing the swelling, and restoring the blood flow to its proper course in his brain. It was excruciating. Whatever was wrong with his head was definitely what was keeping his neural shunt from working.

Plex helped. He had scans of Noh-Varr's body at peak physical conditions and relayed that information wirelessly to the nanites in Noh-Varr's bloodstream. It was a slow, agonizing process. He spent most of the afternoon focusing on self-healing until finally, as it was growing dark, Noh-Varr's neural shunt kicked in. The pain melted away, to be replaced by the soft strains of music in his ears. He gasped in relief, and collapsed against the bed, thinking he might _finally_ be able to sleep through the night.

**//Proximity alert. Tommy is returning.//**

That made Noh-Varr sit up quickly, to the quiet titter of a flute. He reached for his crutches and hauled himself upright, ignoring the blaring trumpet that blasted a few notes before quieting down into the chime of bells in the background. He knew Tommy would yell at him if he was standing, so he lowered himself into the arm chair and propped his leg back up, as the low hum of guitar strings vibrated through his ears. He was _so_ glad his shunt was working again.

Tommy walked through the door, and he looked tired and worn. Noh-Varr immediately tried to get up – his lover was in pain – but Tommy blurred, and reappeared at his side, a hand on his shoulder preventing him from getting up . Then Tommy took off his suit jacket, un-knotted the tie, removed his dress shirt, and stepped out of his shoes. He slid into Noh-Varr's lap carefully, sitting on his uninjured leg and avoiding his broken ribs. He cradled his face into Noh-Varr's collarbone, and let out a choked sound that was suspiciously like a sob.

Noh-Varr did not comment on the tears. He brought his hand up to loosely grip Tommy's shoulder and asked quietly, “How did it go?” He wasn't hoping for much, with Tommy's agonized expression.

“We won.” Tommy said, into his shoulder. “The injunction was thrown out of court.”

There must be more, or Tommy would be happy. Unless he didn't want to be with Noh-Varr any more? But that didn't make sense – he knew Tommy cared about him, and if Tommy hadn't wanted to see him any more they wouldn’t' have needed a restraining order, because Tommy would have just stopped coming by.

“There was a condition. I can't live here until I turn 18. I have to go home at night. That's all I'm going to do – I'll be here the rest of the time to help you with everything.”

“That's not too bad.” Noh-Varr said, “I'll miss you at night, but I'll be okay. It's only for another six weeks anyways.”

“She knows.” Tommy said, with another shake of his shoulders and damp tears soaking into his shirt.

“...what?”

“She hired a detective, to find you. For the injunction. And I guess he followed me, to find you. I didn't even think anyone _could_ follow me. Maybe he put a tracer on me or something Idon'tfuckingknow. But he did follow me. And he found out that I'm going to therapy. And normally I'd be covered by a doctor-patient confidentiality – that means they couldn't find out what we talked about – but Rebecca is my legal guardian. She has accesstoallthat. Plus. I forged her signature to start therapy. And...and...Ididn'teverwanttocomeouttoher and I sure as _hell_ didn't want it to be like this and theyuseditincourtforareasonformenottoseeyouanymore and now everyone knows and whatamIgoingto _do_?!”

Tommy wrapped his arms tightly around Noh-Varr's neck and cried into his shoulder.

“I'm sorry.” Noh-Varr said, as soothingly as he could. “That was a very cruel thing for them to do.”

“I don't think Rebecca wanted to.” Tommy said, between sobs that he was clearly pretending not to have. “She would have talked to me about it, but that wasn't like her. They were losing – it was right near the end and it looked like the judge was going to throw the case out of court, and her lawyer brought it up. It was stupid, and cruel. It didn't help them win, the judge threw it out right after that. They have laws against that – you can't use someone's sexuality as a reason to declare them incompetent any more. But he still _said_ it. I haven't even told Billy and now abunchoffuckingrandomstrangers know! And Rebecca's going to want to _talk_ about it. AndIdon'twantto!”

“You don't have to.” Noh-Varr said firmly. “They can't make you talk about it.”

“I don't even talk to _you_ about it.” Tommy sounded guilty.

“Tommy, I know that humans don't understand. But I do. In my society, gender was not handled the way it is here. The only time physical gender even mattered was for mating, which was only an issue because of our population problem. We didn't have gender behavioral codes, or specific dress codes. You _are_ a male. That is how you feel inside, and that is all that matters to me. I am sorry I cannot make humans understand.”

Noh-Varr hesitated. Was now the right time? He couldn't be sure, but he felt like he needed to say something more permanent. “I...love you, Tommy. Very much.”

Tommy looked up at him, his eyes red, but his expression surprised, and then, pleased. “I love you too.”

And Tommy kissed him, and it was warm and intimate in a way their kisses hadn't been before. It always felt like Tommy had been holding something back, but Noh-Varr hadn't known that until right now, when he wasn't holding back any more. And Noh-Varr knew that Tommy definitely didn't want to leave, which was good because Noh-Varr had absolutely no intention of letting Tommy go.

Tommy might be the one. While Kree procreated as they were directed by the government for the continued prosperity of all, they mated for life. Sometimes they would mate in groups of three or more, but two was still the most common pairing. Noh-Varr had never really expected to find a mate, being a hybrid. But there was something special about Tommy, something he had never felt about any of his other lovers, even his long term ones.

He wasn't going to bring this up any time soon. He had observed human behavior enough to know that while it was significant for him, and possibly Tommy, humans exchanged the words 'I love you,' with relative ease. A permanent mating was much more serious than the human concept of dating or even marriage. Once a Kree took a mate, they would never take another one. If their mate died in any other than natural way, their mate would avenge them in the most bloody, satisfying way possible. Noh-Varr didn't think Tommy was willing to hear that Noh-Varr would gladly maim things in his honor.

For now, he contented himself with making out with Tommy, who was an excellent kisser, and hoping it would turn into some serious necking and possibly sex. He loved Tommy and Tommy loved him. For now, that was enough.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short; more of an interlude. No real warnings?

Chapter 11

Saturday, October 3rd, 2015

Tommy carefully straddled Noh-Varr's hips, leaning in for a kiss. Noh-Varr let him for a moment, but then turned his head away. “You shouldn't kiss me right now.” He said.

“What? Why?” Tommy looked hurt.

“I have nanotech in my saliva.” Noh-Varr explained, not wanting to hurt Tommy.

“Noh-Varr.” Tommy snapped. “I've been kissing you for _months_.”

“Yes, but I've never been this injured before.” He explained patiently.

Tommy snorted and ran his fingers up Noh-Varr's chest, careful of his still bruised ribs. He also kissed Noh-Varr's neck, clearly determined not to be denied all of his pleasure. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Noh-Varr tried to focus on the conversation, but it was difficult to concentrate when Tommy was sucking on his jugular. “The nanites in my blood multiply when I'm injured, trying to heal me. They're self replicating.”

“I thought you said they were in your saliva.” Tommy said. He slid his hand into Noh-Varr's pants, rubbing across his cock.

“They uh – they're in all my bodily fluids, actually.” He shuddered as Tommy wrapped his hand around his cock and started stroking slowly.

“Even?” Tommy ran a thumb over the head of his cock.

“Even my semen.” He gasped.

“Say come, it's sexier. Does that mean that blow jobs are out too? Because I don't know if I can go another three weeks without sucking your dick.”

Noh-Varr groaned. “Don't remind me of how long it's going to take to heal.” Although, Tommy's hand felt pretty good on his dick. 

“Consider yourself lucky you're not human. It takes at least three months for a normal human to heal, sometimes as long as a year.” Tommy pulled his hand away, and Noh-Varr let a whine escape his lips.

“I think I'd go crazy.” He grabbed Tommy's wrist and tried to suggest that Tommy continue rubbing him.

“So, why can’t I kiss you?” Tommy asked slyly, vibrating his wrist through Noh-Varr's hand, not taking the suggestion.

“I told you, I've got -”

“Yeah, yeah, nanites. But what do they _do_?” Tommy asked, pushing Noh-Varr's shirt up and kissing his chest, pausing to tongue at Noh-Varr's nipples.

“Um. Well, they make you hallucinate.” He was having a hard time figuring out why he was trying to stop Tommy from kissing him.

“Really? Then why haven't I hallucinated before?”

“Normally I have really good control over them. It's just when there are so many swimming around that I have difficulty controlling them.”

“Well, if we can't kiss, and I can't blow you, I'll just have to fuck you instead.” Tommy said, smirking.

Noh-Varr shivered in anticipation. Tommy hadn't fucked him in weeks. Blow jobs were all well and good; they were awesome, actually. But he loved having Tommy in him. Noh-Varr really liked being dominated, and having Tommy over him, thrusting into him; there was nothing else like it.

“You think you can take it right now? I don't want to hurt you.” Tommy asked seriously, 

“You won't.” He really, really wanted Tommy to fuck him.

“I don't want you rerouting the pain, just so I can fuck you.”

“I won't.” He lied easily. “Not any more than I have been, anyways.”

“Alright, let me go get my harness.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got so much fanfic in the works!! I've got this fic planned out through chapter...24? I just need to sit down and write it. 2 chapters are almost done. Then I've got a new Nohmmy fic coming, it's Cyberpunk, so look for that.
> 
> I'll post more of this as soon as I can!!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: No real warnings. Mentions of transgender surgery.

Chapter 12

Wednesday, October 13th, 2015

“We're here.” Tommy said, stopping in front of a large, unobtrusive building. It looked pretty much like any other building on the block, except for the brilliant rainbow flag hanging proudly from a second story balcony.

“Are you sure we should have walked here?” Tommy asked his lover.

“I'm fine. My leg needs the exercise.” Noh-Varr insisted, but he was leaning pretty heavily on his cane. Tommy bet he was hearing some intense classical music right about now.

“You'll put your leg up while we're inside.” Tommy told him.

“If you insist.” Noh-Varr suffered him to open the door, his look clearly stating that _he_ wanted to be the one opening doors for Tommy. He'd recently discovered chivalric romance novels, and was obsessed with 'the human art of courting a lover.' Tommy was unable to communicate that chivalry was a very old custom and _very_ much enforced male and female gender roles. It was, quite frankly, driving him crazy.

“Do you want to come meet Anelle?” He asked.

Noh-Varr hesitated in the entry way. “Um. How about you talk to her first – tell her you want me to come in to the session. I'll come in if she thinks its alright. Counseling is a personal experience.”

“You’ve been to therapy?”

“Being well adjusted is essential for a successful diplomat.” Noh-varr sounded like he was quoting. “The Supreme Intelligence had the wisdom of many counselors to share. My people emphasize scientific exploration over religious discourse, and therapy is merely a matter of scientifically rearranging the brain's priorities.”

“Don't let Anelle hear you say that. She's all about feelings.”

Tommy led Noh-Varr over to a chair in the waiting room, noting the way he sat down heavily in it. He pulled another chair around so Noh-Varr could put his leg up on it. He'd only been allowed to walk around on it for the last two days, and as usual, he was pushing his recovery.

“Here, read this while I go talk to Anelle.” He picked up a gay dating magazine off the rack and handed it to his lover. “I'm probably not going to like everything in them, but at least it'll have human courting tips for males instead of females.”

“There's a difference here?” Noh-Varr seemed surprised.

His lover's easy acceptance of Tommy's trangenderism was very gratifying at times, while other times it drove Tommy crazy. He really had a difficult time with gender differences, and human concepts of sexuality. For instance, he was very proud of the way he enjoyed being taken during sex. He'd tried to explain to Tommy that it made him feel more male, rather than less. Tommy had, in return, tried to explain that he didn't _want_ to be on the bottom, because it made him feel more feminine, and that most humans would see it that way. Noh-Varr hadn't understood that at all. To him, sex was something two or more people did together, and didn't affect gender at all. It was one of the most alien things about him.

“I will try to keep that in mind.” Noh-Varr said earnestly, eager to both please Tommy and support him. This was why it was nearly impossible to stay angry with him.

“Tommy?” Anelle called, from the door that led into the counseling wing.

“I'll come get you later.” Tommy promised, pressing a quick kiss to Noh-Varr's lips, and headed off to meet Anelle. Noh-Varr looked startled, but his expression melted into a grin as he watched Tommy go.

“Hi.” He said to Anelle, following her through the door, down a hallway, and into the small, private room they used for their sessions. She turned on the white noise filter as they entered the room, and Tommy wondered if it would work against Noh-Varr's super hearing.

“So I take it that wasn't your brother?” Anelle asked him, once he'd settled.

“No.” Tommy smiled. “Billy looks just like me, except he's got black hair and blue eyes. That was Noh-Varr. He's my -” Tommy was going to say 'boyfriend,' but that just didn't seem enough, any more. Tommy'd had lots of boyfriends and girlfriends. Noh-Varr was more than that. But they weren't engaged or anything so -

“He's my partner.”

Anelle nodded. “Is he?” She actually looked flustered.

“The one that Rebecca tried to get a restraining order against? Yes. Why? Do you think he's too old for me too?” Tommy said that a little bit more bitterly than he was intending.

“No one wants to see you get hurt, Tommy.”

“Noh-Varr makes me _happy_.” Tommy emphasized. He couldn't tell her that Noh-Varr was young for his species; he had no intention of telling her that he was dating an alien, even if she probably had the clearance to hear it. He couldn't be sure that reporting alien fugitives wasn't one of the things she would be required to tell someone about, like she was about mutants who were using their powers to hurt people.

“Alright. Is there a specific reason you brought him with you today? You've never brought him up in our sessions before.”

“He pays for my T shots.” Tommy said abruptly.

Anelle arched her brows at him. “Mrs. Kaplan doesn't pay for them?”

“No.” Tommy said. “Until that PI followed me, she didn't even know that I – that I'm – that I'm not a bio guy.” He finished lamely.

Anelle was shocked. “She didn't – oh Tommy, I'm so sorry! Legally, we have to provide your guardian documentation of our sessions until you turn eighteen, but we wouldn't have let her find out like that. Are you okay?”

This is why he liked Anelle. She seemed genuinely concerned about Tommy, and didn't try to make excuses or justify what they'd done in providing Rebecca with sensitive information. She immediately recognized that it could have been seriously damaging to him, and wanted to help.

“I'm...I'm doing alright. Noh-Varr's really supportive. I just didn't want her to know. She's not my mother and Billy's already gay, and just – she's a therapist, too. I really, really don't want to talk to her about it.”

“I'm sorry Tommy. Coming out is difficult, and I know we'd talked about it a little. You said you wanted to come out to your brother.”

“Yeah. I want Billy to know. I do. I just. Not like this.” He'd told Anelle that Billy was his half-brother, which wasn't really true, but there was no real way to get into it without a whole bunch of convoluted conversations involving witchcraft and reality-warping and lot of other things that she didn't have clearance for.

“Do you think Rebecca will tell him?”

“God. I hope not. I-I don't think she will, it's just well, it's out there, in the world, you know? It was brought up in the trial, and that's bound to get around somehow. Now I feel like I have to tell him, before he finds out himself.”

“Coming out isn't something you should feel pressured into. Even if someone else tells him, from what you've said about your brother, I think he'll wait to hear it from you. And I think he'll understand.”

“I-I don't know. I mean, Billy's known he was gay like, forever. And he's got this super awesome fiancee, and they've been together for like, four years. I just can't compete with that.”

“No one's expecting you to compete with your brother, Tommy.”

That's because she didn't know they were twins. He didn't want to be “the other gay twin.” “I just feel like...I don't know. That I won't measure up, or something. Billy's always been the good one.”

“Tommy, you are a wonderful person. I know you struggle with self-esteem issues, and we've worked to help you resolve them in the past. You've been doing so much better the last few months.”

“Oh. Well, yeah, that's all Noh-Varr. He um. He's really good for me.” Tommy said lamely. “Look, uh, I brought him along today because I wanted to talk to you about top surgery. I want to have it done as soon as I can, legally. And he wants to pay for it.”

Anelle looked surprised, and probably for good reason. Noh-Varr didn't look like he was loaded. Tommy hadn't even realized how much the Kree had until he'd opened up the safe he kept in the floor under his mattress. The amount of money he had was kind of disgusting. “Of course, Tommy, we can talk about that. Do you want Noh-Varr to be here for that?”

“Yes, please.”

“Would you like to go get him or should I?”

“I'll go get him.” Tommy got up and went back to the waiting room.

Noh-Varr was sitting there, still reading the magazine. He looked very engrossed in it, and Tommy secretly hoped he'd made the right decision in getting Noh-Varr a gay magazine. Who knew what sorts of tips he was pulling out of it's pages? Probably none that Tommy wanted him actually following.

“Noh-Varr.” He called softly.

The Kree looked up, and smiled at him. He closed the magazine and put it carefully on the table, then grabbed his cane and started to get up. Tommy saw his knee buckle, and sped out to steady him before the Kree could fall. Clearly they shouldn't have walked all the way here.

“I'm fine.” Noh-Varr said tightly, but Tommy didn't let go of his arm. He deliberately walked slowly back to the room where Anelle was waiting, forcing Noh-Varr to walk at his pace. Stubborn bastard.

They got into the room without too much trouble, Tommy directing Noh-Varr to the chair by the door, pulling up the end table that held the clock for their sessions and helped Noh-Varr put his foot up, even though the Kree scowled at him. Then he sat back down in his own chair, putting on a smile that he didn't quite feel.

“Anelle, this is Noh-Varr, my partner. Noh-Varr, this is Anelle, my therapist.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Noh-Varr said politely, and held his hand out for Anelle.

She took it with a far more genuine smile than Tommy had managed. “It is good to meet you, Noh-Varr. Tommy said that you wanted to be here to discuss his gender re-assignment surgery?”

“Yes. I asked him, if I could come today. I do not want Tommy to have to worry about money during his gender re-assignment process. I have not gone through the process myself, but all my research indicates that cost can be a major roadblock in a gender transition.”

“That is often true. Before recommending re-assignment surgery, we usually recommend our patients spend some time living as the gender they are working towards, to be sure that they really want this change. However, Tommy has been presenting as male for a very long time, and from our talks, I am confident that he is psychologically as prepared as possible for the surgery.”

She hadn't told Tommy that before. They'd discussed surgery a little, but since Tommy wasn't able to sign off on the surgery on his own until he was eighteen, they hadn't talked about what he really needed to do in order to go through with it. He was glad that Anelle seemed to think he was ready; he'd been ready to switch genders since he was twelve years old. If they hadn't been so poor, and his mother so sick, he probably would have gotten surgery ages ago.

“So, if it's alright with you Tommy, I am going to refer you to a doctor who specializes in gender reassignment surgery in the area. He mostly works with teens who are undergoing a transition young. He is going to want to do a double mastectomy first, and give you plenty of time to heal before you go through with any kind of bottom surgery. He will be the one taking over the counseling for that; there are many different options available, and he is better equipped to explain all them to you. I know we talked about you not having insurance, previously but...”

She trailed off, and Noh-Varr cut in firmly. “Money is not a problem.”

“In that case, there are just a few forms I need both of you to fill out, and I will send in the referral.”

They spent the next half-hour going over paperwork. There were consent forms and payment agreements, and all of Tommy's legal paperwork for applying for an official gender change to his birth certificate, social security card, and driver's license. Normally paperwork stressed him out or made him angry, but this was paperwork he had been waiting to fill out for a long time.

Afterwords, they thanked her, and Tommy helped Noh-Varr hobble out to the curb to wait for a taxi. The Kree was grumbling under his breath about not being an invalid, but he wasn't really grumpy. Tommy was so happy, and it was clearly rubbing off on his lover. He kissed Tommy right out on the street in front of God and everybody, and Tommy didn't even care.

“I love you, Tommy.” Noh-Varr said softly. “This surgery makes you happy?”

“Extremely.” He said, unable to keep the grin off his face.

“Good. Then let's go home. I have been good, and not complained when you babied me. I deserve a reward.” Noh-Varr said very solemnly, though he'd practically been complaining the entire time.

Still, he'd clearly been making an effort, and Tommy was definitely in the mood. Even if Noh-Varr hadn't suggested anything, he would have planned on at least making out as soon as they got home. Hell, depending on who the cabby was, he might not even wait that long. “Yeah, I can handle that.” 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, it's been forever! I haven't abandoned this fic, I swear. It's just hard to get back into these characters after writing 20 days of Jay/Tim/Kon.
> 
> Warnings: Language, references to racism, references to abuse, minimal trans sex scene (it's at the end, its not very graphic.)

Saturday, October 31st, 2015

“I have to go.” Noh-Varr says, and he's leaning into Tommy, his head against Tommy's shoulder, just breathing in the scent of him. Tommy's got one hand on his waist and another in his hair, and he's doing the same thing.

“I wish you didn't.” He says, but they both know it's been too long since Noh-Varr was back to work for him to ask tonight off, no matter what the occasion is. He can't get another job; his lover can't afford to lose this one. And they'll have a private celebration, later. 

“I know.” Noh-Varr straightens up, and kisses him, and they ignore the gasps from the people watching. Tommy'd pulled him off to the side, into a hallway off the main room of the convention center, but people followed them anyway, wanting to talk to him, not understanding that this was his time with Noh-Varr and he had no intention of speaking to them until he'd devoured his lover's mouth the way he really wanted to. He hadn't really planned on this being the way he came out, but he really didn't give a shit, right at this moment.

“I wanted to give you something.” Noh-Varr says, still ignoring the people behind them. Tommy doesn't even bother to see who it is. For all he knew, he just made out in front of Captain America. He's not surprised to find he really doesn't care. 

“I was going to wait until later, but I can't help it. Everyone's staring at you and...I want them to know you're with me. That I belong to you.” He says, and it's an interesting choice of words. Like the bedroom; Noh-Varr wants Tommy to be the dominant one, he's more concerned with belonging to Tommy than taking possession of him. Tommy really, really likes that. He briefly considers asking whoever's there to bug off so they can have sex.

“Thomas Erik Shepherd, <would you be mine, forever?>” He asks in Kree, and Tommy barely suppresses a gasp. That's – Plex decided he'd needed to learn about Kree mating customs a few weeks back, and that's...that's the first part of the ceremony.

“I-Noh-Varr, you -” His brain can't form coherent words.

Noh-Varr's looking at him with longing bordering on desperation, and even though it's a simple word, Tommy has trouble getting it out. “<Yes. Oh, fuck, yes!> I didn't – I mean, I haven't gotten _you_ -”

Noh-Varr cuts him off with a finger to his lips, and pulls out something in a box from his suit jacket's pocket. “<Later, my love. Later you can make me yours.>”

“Fuck.” Tommy exhales shakily, and opens the box. It's a ring – a fucking gold ring, with a red stone in it that he's seen somewhere before. 

“It fits on any finger.” Noh-Varr says. “Or your wrist, if you want. Just think what you want it to do, and it'll do it.”

Tommy slides it onto his ring finger anyway, not caring that people will stare at it all night, wondering. He _wants_ them to stare. And the metal expands, goes over his finger, and then contracts again, fitting perfectly. This is - “Is this from your gauntlets?”

“Yes.” Noh-Varr's eyes look...sad? Tommy can't place the expression. “Tradition demands I give you something of myself, to keep with you forever. I belong to you now, body and mind and soul. I won't let anything take me away from you.” And his gauntlets are all his has, of himself. Of who he used to be. Noh-Varr doesn't say it, but Tommy knows anyways. Plex hinted at something like this when he'd explained mating customs, and Tommy didn't care what Noh-Varr said. The AI was a conniving little matchmaking bastard.

What the hell was Tommy going to give Noh-Varr for a ring? Something from his uniform, maybe, but that was all plexi-glass goggles and spandex. But – there's Kevlar in it, and Kate will kill him if he rips it out of his suit but – he wonders if Billy could make a ring out of Kevlar. He'll get it from Kate, green Kevlar, and if they won’t help him he'll demand it as a wedding present because he doesn't _have_ anything else. Unless he melts down one of his childhood toy trucks or something, and that would require seeing his father, providing that stuff didn't go straight into the trash the moment he left – no. No, it'll be green fucking Kevlar, and he'll get Billy to spell it so it can fit on any of Noh-Varr's fingers too.

“Thank you. I – I love you.”

“I love you too, Tommy. So much.  <You are my _hala_. >” he says, and kisses Tommy again with passion and love so strong that he doesn't know if his human brain can cope with the Kree concept of a mate, and for one terrifying moment, he doesn't think he can handle this.

He wants to say it back, but he can't, because there are _people_ here, and he's not Kree, not yet, not till they're mated. And he isn't going to use that sacred term until he is. Humans don't have an equivalent word – nothing compares to it. The word 'love' is just too casual, too pale, next to someone telling you that _you_ are their world, the reason for their existence, the reason they draw breath.

“I'll meet you, after.” He says instead.

“I'll be waiting.” 

“Win for me.” It's Noh-Varr's first fight since he'd been so badly hurt, and Tommy is trying to tell himself it's normal to be this worried.

Noh-Varr's whole face lights up. “You took my ring. Of course I'll win tonight.”

Tommy knows he will. He took out a small loan from Raquel, and bet it all on Noh-Varr. Noh-Varr gives him one last kiss and Tommy watches him walk away. His heart wrenches at the sight of Noh-Varr's limp – imperceptible to humans, probably, but Tommy can see it. His leg healed, but it'll never be quite the same again. He tore too many muscles and broke the bone too badly for that. It left a hell of a scar.

When his lover was out of sight, and Tommy turned around, he was amused to see that the hallway was empty. He wonders when during their declarations of love did the onlookers get the hint and bugger off. Or maybe Billy made them leave – he had the best brother, really. Even if Billy had let Kate plan their joint birthday bash, and invite all the superheros she could track down, and turned it into a masquerade so she didn't have to give up her original Halloween plans.

He straightened his jacket and slipped the ring box into his pocket and wondered if he could get a drink without anyone noticing. If Northstar or Pietro weren't here, he could probably manage it, but he was pretty sure he'd seen his uncle before he stepped out with Noh-Varr. No mask could help with hair like theirs. That was why he hadn’t worn a mask. Well, that, and to piss Kate off.

“Tommy, there you are!” Billy nabs him before he can make a beeline for the drinks. It wouldn't have done any good – Pietro is there, and he looks suspiciously like he's guarding the adult's punch bowl. He, like Tommy, is not wearing a mask.

Billy's got one, of course. He's the poster child for obedience. He's letting his inner nerd out, with a Red Robin mask on that he probably magic'd together himself. Teddy is with him, wearing what is probably supposed to be Nightwing's mask, not that Tommy would know. He's definitely cheating – he shifted into it, Tommy's sure of it.

“Mom wants pictures. Um. Both mom's do, actually. C'mon!”

The Scarlet Witch wants to get pictures of them? Is Magneto here, too? Maybe they're going to get a family portrait done or something. That would be...strange. He lets Billy drag him over to one side of the hall, where there's this ridiculous photo op set up, like they’re at a wedding or something. Mrs Kaplan is waiting with her camera, and the two littlest Kaplans are barely suppressing their utter glee. Someone sent a memo or something, because all the adult superheros are wearing masks of each other but it's pretty obvious who they all are. Thor, for instance, isn't fooling anyone, even with the ridiculous Hulk mask he's wearing.

And was that? Yes. That _had_ to be Loki, in that glittering wolf mask, He had a man with him in a traditional harlequin mask, who had rainbow colored hair and swirling Celtic tattoos, who was obviously Billy's teacher, Discord. He wondered what Billy had had to do to get Loki invited to a party with civilians and not be arrested.

Tommy went to go stand under the arch with Billy, wishing he'd dragged Noh-Varr over here for pictures before he'd left. If he had to suffer, his lover should have to, too. He posed and even managed a smile, partly because Billy had threatened him if he didn't behave, partly because _The Scarlet Witch_ was taking his picture, and mostly because he'd just gotten the best gift of his entire life, and he couldn't _not_ smile. He made sure his left hand was visible in every single frame. If Noh couldn't be here, his ring was damn well gonna be.

Wanda was the one who noticed it. Once they were done taking pictures, she swept him up in a hug that should have been awkward, but he was too happy to care.

“You're engaged? That's so wonderful!” She exclaimed.

He blushed, especially when everyone went silent at her words, and turned and looked at him. Billy looked happy _and_ betrayed, probably because Tommy hadn't told him first. Like he'd had time.

“Um. Yeah. Noh-Varr just proposed.” There were cheers – some of them ecstatic, from Loki and Discord, of all people, to strained ones, probably from the Avengers. Tommy didn't care. He was too fucking happy.

“Sorry he couldn't stay to meet you. He had to work.” Tommy said.

“On your birthday?” She asked, like she'd even realized he was her son before two years ago.

Billy came to his rescue. “He's missed a lot of work lately. He wants to keep his job, so he can support Tommy.”

That pleased both Wanda and Mrs. Kaplan, and Tommy could have kissed his brother, except that would be gross. Of course, he still had to endure the questions and well wishes of every single person at the ball. There were also presents, which was embarrassing. He hadn’t even thought about presents. Hell, he hadn't gotten presents in years, unless you counted the stuff Noh-Varr had gotten him. He hadn't had a real birthday party since he was thirteen. His mom had tried, but his dad had taken everything in the divorce. They'd been too poor to spend money on presents and parties.

He smiled and nodded and stood next to Billy and Teddy and wished _his_ menacing alien boyfriend was there. Fiancee. Hell, they were practically mated already. Noh-Varr had given his statement of intent, had offered himself to Tommy, and given him a symbol of himself. Tommy just needed to give Noh-Varr his ring and exchange a few vows in front of a hologram of the _Marvel_ and they _would_ be mated. He started smiling again.

Luckily, no one seemed to expect him to open his gifts there. He'd have time to properly sort through them and process it all later. Once everyone had congratulated them and returned to dancing and food, Billy rounded on Tommy, his eyes wide and shivering with excitement . Kate was standing a suspicious amount of feet away, and Tommy knew she was eavesdropping shamelessly.

“You're _engaged_?!” Billy practically squealed. Really, what had Tommy expected?

“Um. Yeah.” He said lamely.

“When? Do you need someone to plan the reception? I didn't know you guys were that serious – that's awesome! Hey wait – you've already got a ring?” Billy practically ripped Tommy's hand off, pulling it up where he could see it. If Tommy hadn't been a speedster, he'd never have been able to keep up with Billy's excitement.

“God, that's gorgeous. Teddy.” Billy let go of Tommy's hand and turned angry eyes on his own fiancee. “We've been engaged a _hell_ of a lot longer than Tommy. But I've never gotten a ring.”

“Um.” Teddy looked suddenly terrified. “I uh, I figured we were going to pick them out together. And you keep avoiding all the wedding plans Miss Kaplan tries to make so...”

“Speaking of wedding plans – do you want to do a joint ceremony? It'll take the pressure off so much. I don't even want something big and fancy but Mom's all excited...”

“Noh-Varr and I aren't getting married.” Tommy tried to explain.

“But-”

“We can't. Legally. He's not a legal citizen.”

“Oh. Right.” Billy seemed to forget not all aliens had come to Earth as infants and had real social security cards.

“We're reciting our vows before Hala. It's um. A Kree thing. Normally it's very private but – you and Teddy can come, if you want. You're my twin; you're basically me. So you're allowed to be there. And Teddy is your mate – part of you, part of me. So he can come too. You don't have to do anything just – be there.” He finished breathlessly. He'd only talked to Noh-Varr about it a little, he'd really wanted to ask them together.

“Really? That sounds – that -” Billy flailed around a little bit, completely at a loss for words.

“We'd be honored Tommy, really.” Teddy finally said for him.

“How did this happen?” Billy spluttered. “How is Tommy having a more romantic marriage than me?”

“My alien fiancee is just better than yours.” Tommy smirked.

“Hey!”

“You'd better get your act together, Altman.”

“Well, let this incredibly romantic alien fiancee acquire my love some punch.” Teddy said. Billy snickered as Teddy swept away.

“Billy, I wanted to ask you – the ceremony requires a ring. It has to be something symbolic, something of myself. I want it to grow and shrink, so Noh-Varr can wear it on whatever finger he wants. I want it to be made from Kevlar, like my suit. And I know you're eavesdropping Kate. Can you get me scrap from my suit? Is that possible? I'd just cut a piece of mine but -”

“I'd have to kill you.” Kate smiled. “I think I can get ahold of that for you. The designer I work with never throws fabric from one of my designs away.”

“That would be perfect.” Tommy said honestly. “Could you have it sent to Billy's house? I don't want Noh to see it before it's done.”

Kate nodded. She seemed genuinely pleased for him, which was a relief. Tommy was still stressed out about his former teammates not getting along with Noh-Varr. Teddy had been the most upset, of all of them, so far, but Kate had a serious temper when she wanted to. Billy had actually taken it really well. Tommy almost felt like telling him about his transgender status. He was still nervous about it, but after the way Billy had handled his relationship with Noh-Varr, Tommy was hopeful that the conversation would go well.

“I could ask Loki about a spell for your ring.” Billy told him. “That doesn't sound like it will be too hard. I've never done something like that for someone else, but it should be doable.”

“Thanks Billy. I owe you.”

“Well, you might want to wait until I actually spell your ring first.” Billy said wryly. “But no problem. What are magical brothers for?”

He grinned, and went to go get himself some punch, because his sexy alien boyfriend wasn't there to get it for him. He'd started for the teen's punch bowl, but caught Pietro making eyes at him, and a subtle head jerking motion that actually looked kinda ridiculous, so Tommy made his way over there.

“Hey, kid. Wanda told me congratulations were in order.” Pietro said awkwardly. They hadn't really ever interacted much, and now Pietro was trying to be all friendly, like a real uncle. It was weird, but not entirely unwelcome.

“Um. Yeah. Thanks.”

“Look, do you want some _real_ punch?” Pietro offered, holding up a cup full of alcoholic punch.

“Yeah.” He took it nonchalantly, and downed half the cup in one swig. “Look. I wanted to ask Wanda but I didn't really know how. I'm going to change my name, legally. I kind of wanted to change my last name to Maximoff, if – if you'll have me.”

Pietro looked surprised, but also pleased. “You want to have our mother's name? We – well, I think it'd make Wanda happy. She always wanted kids, you know. And I know you two aren't...that it's not _ideal_ , but spending time with you makes her really happy. Is your fiance going to take our name too?”

They actually hadn't talked about that. Tommy was changing his name legally, and applying for an official change of gender on his documentation, but they couldn't get married, so it hadn't come up. “He'd probably like that, if that's okay.”

“Sure. Just don't be surprised if Wanda wants to plan your wedding.”

“Um. We're not getting married.”

“But I thought-?”

“He's – he's an alien.” Tommy explained, wondering what Pietro would think about that. “We can't.”

“An alien like...needs a green card alien? Or?”

“Like...he's really not from around here alien.”

Pietro smirked. “It runs in the family. We just don't date humans. Billy's lover is a Skrull, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah he is.”

Pietro shrugged. “As long as he treats you well. And if he doesn't – remind him who your relations are.”

“Thanks, Pietro.” Tommy grinned. It probably wasn't very healthy, but it was nice having relatives that would vaporize people who hurt him.

“Enjoy the party.”

Tommy stuck around for another hour or so, before heading out. Billy'd agreed to drop off Tommy's presents at Noh's apartment so he could go through them later. He went and got something to eat on his way to the club – party food was all well and good, but he wouldn't actually eat any of it. He was much more comfortable at one of his local diners, where he could eat as much as he liked, and they wouldn't stare, or whisper rude things behind his back. And he tipped well enough that if a _customer_ started bothering Tommy, the waitresses threw them out more often than not.

After he was done eating, he made one more shopping stop on his way home, to pic up something nice for Noh for the evening. Then he headed to the club. 

It was still early for Noh-Varr to be getting done – it was only 2am, and Noh-Varr frequently worked till 6 or 7 – however long it took them to kick everyone out for the night and clean up. There was still a line at the door – there was _always_ a line at the door, since this was the only alien/mutant exclusive club in the city, but Tommy didn't bother with the line. Noh-Varr was working the door with Screamin – a gigantic Skrull/mutant hybrid, who looked like an ogre. He had dark green skin, a few shades darker than Teddy, and long hair that he kept bound up in a topknot. His ears were long and pointed, with three metal gauges in either one. He had to be at least eight feet tall and had thick, corded muscles, but he had been culled from his breeding program for his deformity. His teeth had grown in all wrong, jutting up out of his jaw and ruining his speech patterns. Screamin liked Tommy, because they both had white hair, and Tommy didn't talk down to him like he was a child just because he talked funny.

Tommy skipped to the front of the line and said, “Hey, Screamin. You keepin my boyfriend company?”

“He has been insufferable. Bragging about convincing some poor sod to mate with him.” Screamin shook his head sadly. “He is so short, and scrawny as well. Not a proper mate at all.”

Tommy snickered. Screamin liked to use big words, even if his teeth and tongue mangled English so badly that most people had trouble understanding him. “Well, I like him alright.”

“Just alright?” Noh-Varr asked, coming around behind him, putting an arm around Tommy's waist.

“Well, depends. Did you win tonight?” 

Noh-Varr smirked. “We got a bounty notice from SHIELD. Tol-Nok was wanted for assassination. So I ripped his arm off, and Raquel had Acelain take him to SHIELD headquarters.”

“You're a vicious son of a bitch.”

“That's why you love me.” Noh-Varr leaned down and kissed Tommy possessively, clearly marking his territory before Tommy went inside. It didn't bother him – he actually kind of liked it.

“I do.”

“Iscrit's on bar tonight. Raquel said you can train with him tonight, see if you like it.”

“Yeah, okay. How late do you have to stay?”

“We can take off right after last call. Since it's your birthday.”

“Okay. I'll see you then, alright?”

Tommy slipped inside, and headed to the second floor, where Iscrit was working at the mutant bar. Whatever breeding program Screamin and Iscrit had been part of, Iscrit was clearly the success of their efforts. He was tall, about seven feet or so, with bronzed red skin and thick, ropy muscles. He didn't have the facial deformity Screamin had – his teeth were all normally sized, if a little sharp. His hair was a deep red, and kept out of his face with a tail at the back of his head. Iscrit looked a little Skrull in the eyes and in his jaw and basic build, but whatever he'd been crossed with was the dominant part of him. He also had a long, heavy tail and big feathered wings that were currently folded against his back. Neither Iscrit or Screamin had shape-shifting abilities, but Tommy had seen Iscrit breathe fire, though whether that was from his adjusted Skrull genetics or from whatever he was crossed with, Tommy didn't know, and he didn't ask.

“Hey Tommy! You here to learn?” Iscrit asked, flashing him a brilliant smile.

“Yeah. Noh said you'd start teaching me?”

“Of course! Come back behind the bar and wash your hands. I'll show you what to do.”

Tommy spent the next two hours learning about mixing drinks. Iscrit showed him all the different kinds of glasses, how much ice to put in each one, if any, what kinds of alcohol the club stocked, and began learning the different kinds of drinks they could make. It was a lot to take in, but Tommy had perfect recall, thanks to his mutant abilities, so he caught on very quickly. Iscrit even had him make a few drinks at the end of the night.

“You're really good at this, Tommy. Do you think you'll come and work for us?”

“I don't know. Raquel wants me to. Do I have to join if I do?” he asked, pointedly looking at the Black Sun tattoos that Iscrit had tattooed on the back of his hands and the side of his neck.

Iscrit smiled. “No. Most of us do, but it's not required. A lot of us don't have family or friends outside the gang, so we join. It's safer that way. Noh says you don't want to, so I don't expect you to. You've got a couple brothers and two moms, right?”

Tommy smirked, wondering what Noh-Varr had told hem about Tommy's 'family.' “Well, I've got a brother, Billy. His fiancee is a Skrull too – you should meet him sometime. He doesn't have a lot of Skrull friends. Anyway, he's kind of like a brother, too. And I've got a mom and uncle and grandfather. Sort of? It's complicated. Anyway, Billy's got a mom and dad, and two younger brothers too. And we've got some friends who we used to run with.” Tommy shrugged. “I did the gang thing in juvie. It's not for me.”

“I'm sure Noh-Varr's told you it's different with us. But I'm happy to teach you either way, and if you pass your exam, you can bar tend here. Raquel always needs extra help, especially on weekends.”

“Thanks, Red.”

Iscrit smiled at the use of his nickname. “Any time.”

Noh-Varr showed up then, greeting Tommy with a kiss across the bar. “We can go now. Did you have fun?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Good.” Noh-Varr really wanted Tommy to work with him – Tommy could tell.

“Let's go home. I bought you a present, you know.”

“You did? What is it?”

“You'll just have to wait to find out.”

Noh-Varr practically scooped him up and dashed out of the club. Tommy squirmed in his grip until Noh-Varr put him down. They raced back to Noh-Varr's apartment, Tommy going just slow enough that Noh-Varr could keep up.

As soon as their apartment door was closed, Noh-Varr was all over him, hands working their way under his clothes, lips pressed to his own, tongue desperately devouring his mouth. When they finally paused for a moment to let Tommy breathe, Noh-Varr gasped out,

“Stay with me, Tommy. Don't leave me anymore. I don't wish to be separated from you.”

“I'm staying. I brought my stuff over already.” he pointed at the few duffel bags now sitting by the bed. “Billy's bringing my presents over tomorrow, and my TV and stuff.”

“I love you.” Noh-Varr said. “Make me yours.”

“I thought you might say that. I bought you something,” he said slyly. He pulled out the brown paper bag he'd brought home from the sex shop earlier, and gave it to his lover. Noh-Varr looked inside, and his eyes got huge.

“Please. Now?” Dropping in limited English was a sure sign of Noh-Varr's arousal.

“Undress me first.”

Immediately Noh-Varr's hands were pulling at his clothes, drawing his shirt up over his head, unbuttoning his pants and sliding them down his legs. Noh-Varr whines and palmed him thourhg his briefs. Even though what he was packing wasn't real, Noh-Varr seemed to like it. Noh-Varr rubbed against Tommy's leg, already half hard and panting.

“Please fuck me.”

Tommy reached down and covered Noh-Varr's hand with his own. “I think...once we're mated, I might want you...to fuck me.” He said hesitantly.

Noh-Varr was instantly hard. “Really? You've never let me before.”

“I know. I never felt comfortable, before. But you make me feel...whole. Even with all this,” Tommy gestured vaguely to his female biology, “I feel like myself, when I'm with you. And. You have a really nice dick.”

“So you've said.”

“Well, it's true. And I was thinking that I'd fuck your nice dick with my mouth, and then we'll play with the toy I bought you, if that's okay with you.”

Noh-Varr shivered in anticipation. “Make me yours.”

So Tommy did.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Monday, November 15th, 2015

Billy frowned at his cellphone as it went to Tommy's voicemail for the third time in a row. Tommy was always really good about getting back to Billy, even if he was doing something when Billy called. And they'd arranged to have Billy bring over the presents some time this week, so it wasn't like Tommy hadn't been expecting him to call. He was genuinely worried.

He'd sort of promised Tommy that he wouldn't use a locating spell on him any more. But he had presents for Tommy, and he had the engagement ring that Tommy had begged him to make for him, and well, he was really worried.

So he closed his eyes and concentrated on the spell. Loki had been training him to no longer rely on the sound of his own voice to cast spells, so he might at well practice now. He focused on Tommy's presence. Now that he was aware that he had a twin, he'd realized that he could always sort of feel Tommy. It was like...looking in a reflection, except there were some slight ripples. Tommy's aura was...blurry, because he moved faster than other people. Pietro and Northstar's auras were like that too.

Tommy's aura wasn't very far away, but it was surrounded by lots of other auras, so Billy scouted around until he found an alley nearby with no people, and then teleported. He walked calmly out of the alley, and stared up at the hospital in front of him. Tommy was in the _hospital_? Why hadn't anyone called him?

Billy pulled himself together, and walked in, heading for reception. He smiled shyly at the receptionist, who smiled back at him. 

“Can I help you?”

“Yeah, um, I'm looking for Tommy Shepherd? I'm his brother.”

She referred to her computer, typing something into the search bar and then replying, “He's in room 307, in recovery. Do you need someone to show you the way?”

“No, thanks, I'll find it.” Billy smiled again, even though he felt ill. Recovery? What the hell had happened?

He followed Tommy's aura thought the hospital, his mind racing for what could possibly have gone wrong. What one of their many enemies had caught Tommy alone and hurt him bad enough that he had to be hospitalized? Where the hell was Noh-Varr; he was supposed to protect Billy's brother.

When he got to room 307 he heard voices – a calm tenor voice, and Tommy's laughter. “Don't make me laugh, my stitches!”

“Tommy?” Billy burst in, to the sight of his brother in a hospital bed, a slim, long haired guy standing next to him, his hand casually on Tommy's arm and smiling.

“H-hey bro.” Tommy sounded extremely nervous. The guy with him glared daggers at Billy, like it was Billy's fault for being concerned about his brother.

“Are you okay? What happened?” He asked anxiously. There were tubes coming out of Tommy's chest, he had bandages around his chest and an IV in his arm. Had he been _shot_ or something? What the hell?

“Do you want me to stay?” the long haired guy asked Tommy.

“No Ace, it's okay. He's my twin. I should probably tell him at some point.”

Ace looked up at Billy sharply, and then back at Tommy. Then he nodded, and straightened up. “Alright. But seriously, call if you need anything.” He tapped his head lightly. “I'll be listening.”

“Yeah, thanks. Hey, and tell Noh they said I could leave in an hour or two. He promised sushi.”

“I'll tell him.” Ace passed Billy, and even though he stayed more than a foot away from him, Billy felt himself get pushed roughly, like Acelain had slammed his shoulder into him.

“What the hell? Is he a-?”

“Yeah. Like us. He's a kinetic,” Tommy said, sighing. “Get over here.”

Billy went, not quite meeting the disappointed look in Tommy's eyes. He slumped down into the chair beside Tommy's bed and looked up at him through his shaggy bangs. The puppy eyes didn't usually work on Tommy, but he really had just wanted to know if his brother was okay. He was in the _hospital_.

“You promised you weren't going to use locator spells on me anymore,” Tommy said irritably.

“I know. I was worried. I came to drop your stuff off and you weren't there. And then you didn't answer your phone. And your aura was here, in the _hospital_.”

“I'm okay Billy. It was just day surgery.”

“ _ **Surgery**_?!”

“Just – will you just _shut up_ a minute?” Tommy asked, his voice shaking. “Look, god, this is hard enough as it is. I was gonna come out to you eventually, but god, not now, not like _this_ , and I just – it's just hard okay?”

Billy was honestly confused. “Come out to me? But I already know you're gay. You and Noh-Varr are engaged.”

The look Tommy gave him was withering. “There's more than one kind of coming out, you know. What kind of surgery do you _think_ I just had?”

“Uh. You look like you got shot or something.”

“Gee, thanks bro. They don't give you drainage tubes when you get shot, stupid. I just got a double mastectomy.”

Wait. What?

“You got a – but – but that's a surgery that _girls_ – oh. Oh shit.”

Tommy grimaced and looked away. His voice was full of anger and shame. “Yeah. Oh shit.”

“But you don't _look_ like a - “ Billy managed to cut his stupid self off at the look of agony in Tommy's eyes. “Um, what I mean is, I had no idea. You present really well.”

The sound that came out of Tommy's mouth was nothing like a laugh; more like a sound of pain escaping Tommy's lungs. “Yeah well, I've been presenting since I was twelve. Longer than that if you count pre-puberty.”

“I'm sorry,” Billy said earnestly.

“You're _sorry_? For what? For the way my dad looked at me when I insisted he call me Tommy instead of Erica? For the way I was treated in juvie? For the fact that I have to be aware of what's happening around me every second of every day, just in case someone figures out that I'm not a biological guy?!”

Billy knew his eyes were wide with shock. “Where did _that_ come from? I wasn't – I didn't – look, I don't _care_ what body you were born into Tommy. You're my brother. You're my twin. I'm kinda automatically in your corner.”

“Oh.” Tommy released the death grip he had on the sheets. “Can we – can we just forget everything I just said, then?”

Billy grinned. “I didn't hear you say anything.”

That got a smile from his brother. “You're taking this really well.”

“It makes perfect sense to me.”

“...really?”

“Yeah. I mean. We were both boys before we got reincarnated right? Mom's magic just messed up a little in the body department. It's not really that surprising. Chaos magic is, well, unpredictable.”

Tommy snorted. “You _would_ explain it all away with magic and reincarnation. Can't I just like...feel like a guy?”

“Sure. But you probably feel that way because your soul is male.”

“My soul has a gender.”

“It's possible.” Billy blushed. “Loki and I have been talking about reincarnation a lot. He's almost always reincarnated as a male, but when he's not it doesn't bother him, because his soul is gender-fluid. Someone like Thor would freak out if he was reincarnated as a woman.”

Tommy's face scrunched up, as if he were trying to picture Thor as a female. Then he burst out laughing. “You're crazy. Your teacher is nuts. But – thanks. Other than Noh-Varr you've been the best about this. And Noh's an alien so...” He trailed off into a happy grin.

“You really care about him, don't you.”

“I really do. So, what dos it say about us that we both ended up with aliens?”

“That we have extremely high standards?”

“We're too good for humans.”

“Aliens have better sex.”

“Billy Kaplan! Talking about his sex life. I never thought I'd see the day.” Tommy sniggered, and then laughed harder when Billy blushed heavily.

“Ow, my chest, ah dammit, stop making me laugh!”

“Sorry.”

Once Tommy caught his breath, and it didn't look like any nurses were going to come in and yell at him, Billy asked, “So, who was that guy in here earlier? It didn't seem like he liked me much.”

“Oh that was Acelain. He works at the club with Noh-Varr; he's Noh-Varr's boss, actually.”

“Really? But he doesn't look much older than us!”

“He's twenty-one. He's super smart, a hell of a telekinetic, and he's a telepath too. You seriously do _not_ want to piss that guy off.”

“Great. So why does he hate me?”

“Uh. Well, he knows I hadn't told you about my surgery. He's gone through it himself, so Noh-Varr asked him if he'd keep me company since he couldn't. He had a really bad time when he came out to his relatives and friends, so he's just really protective, I guess. He's my friend.”

Tommy was watching him warily when he made the pronouncement, like he thought Billy was going to start judging him or something.

“Tommy. I'm a mutant gay Jewish Roma witch. My fiancee is a Skrull. You're my reincarnated twin. Our grandfather is Magneto. I'm not going to start judging you based on the gender of your friends.”

“Oh. Well, good. Acelain's really cool. He broke into one of the most secure and hidden mutant experimentation facilities in the world all by himself and afterwords he told our grandfather _and_ Emma Frost to go fuck themselves when they tried to recruit him.

Billy grinned. “I can see how you'd like that. Did the place get shut down?”

“You could say that. Acelain met Raquel on his way out of there. Between the two of them there wasn't anything left to shut down. Watching the two of them work is a beautiful thing.”

The bigger the explosion, the better where Tommy was concerned. He was almost afraid of what would happy if Tommy broke down enough to actually talk to his teachers. Simon would be terribly interested in Tommy's sexuality, and Loki had already remarked on Tommy's predilection for chaos. Billy was extremely good at the conversion speech and Loki was impressive all to his own. Anyone who could go toe to toe with Thor and still be roaming free in the world was a force to be reckoned with, and Loki just _oozed_ sex and power. Thinking about Tommy joining the Church of Loki was terrifying.

“We should hang out more often.” Tommy told him, with a surprisingly open smile. “I think you and Teddy would really like my friends. Bea, that's Ace's brother, is really sweet; he's a great kid and he's studying art. And Screamin and Iscrit are Skrulls. They're like Teddy – they don't have any other family. He should really have some Skrull friends, they should hang out sometime. And when she's not being a scary gang leader, Raquel's really cool, too. Even surrounded by guys all the time she really holds her own.”

“Wait, gang leader?”

Tommy looked like he regretted saying anything. “Um...yeah. She's the leader of Black Sun. Ace is her second, Noh's her third. They wanted me to join but I said no thanks. They're not dangerous; well, no more dangerous than the X-men. They keep mutants and aliens safe. They're not really a militant group like the Brotherhood, and they don't interfere in other people's territories like the X-Men. They keep to themselves mostly.”

Billy nodded uncertainly. “Well, I'm learning magic from Loki so...I don't have any room to judge whether or not your boyfriend is in a gang. Black Sun, huh? Is that why Ace has that crazy tattoo?” he asked, referring to the black spiraling tattoo that had covered half of Acelain's face and trailing down his left arm.

“Yeah. Noh's just got the tattoos on his hands, which is good. Not that Acelain's tattoo isn't awesome, I just like seeing Noh's skin, you know?”

Then he realized who he was talking to and blushed terribly. “Well, you know.”

“Yeah. You know, I _do_ have sex Tommy. Frequently.”

Tommy covered his ears. “No! I don't want to know. You're just too virginal! Ah dammit. Now I'm picturing Altman and his green dick.”

“Whose dick are you thinking about Thomas? Certainly not mine,” came the words from the door, and Noh-Varr was there, smiling broadly and holding a bag of Japanese take out that Tommy was certainly not supposed to have. 

Noh-Varr looked uncertain when he saw Billy, but when Tommy gave him an easy smile he walked over to Tommy's bedside and kissed him soundly. Billy tried valiantly not to scowl. How did everyone get the idea that he wouldn't approve of their relationship?

“So, you ready to get out of here?” Noh-Varr asked Tommy, once they'd parted. “I talked to the doctor and you're stabilized and healing faster than normal, so you can go now, if you want. You'll have to come back in about four days to have your tubes taken out and get those stitches checked.”

“Four days?! I don't need them in that long, I'll heal in two at the worst!”

Noh-Varr snorted. “Humans have to wait up to two weeks, so stop bitching. I can make Billy stay with you, if you need company,” Noh-Varr said wickedly, grinning at Billy with teeth.

“Wait, so now that I know I have to babysit him? Do you _know_ how much of a bitch Tommy is when he's hurt?”

Noh-Varr's eyes were sparkling with humor. “Yes.”

“You're an evil, evil creature.”

“I know.”

A nurse came in and unhooked Tommy from his IV's. She had a bunch of forms for him to fill out, and a packet of instructions and how to care for his tubes and stitches and make sure everything healed and drained the way that it was supposed to. Billy was morbidly fascinated by the whole thing. His brother had more balls than any other guy Billy knew, because he sure as hell wouldn't have had the nerve to go through the surgery Tommy had just had, or to confidently present himself as male all the time. Billy had enough trouble with his masculinity and he'd been born male.

He followed Tommy and Noh-Varr out of the hospital, texting Teddy to let him know he was hanging out with Tommy and not to worry. Tommy was holding Noh-Varr's hand, and had his big leather jacket around his shoulders, and they were laughing and talking about the next surgery that Tommy wanted to have, that was already scheduled for three months from now. Apparently he'd talked his doctor into approving a hysterectomy somehow, and Billy had a sneaking suspicion that maybe Acelain had been doing more than visiting Tommy in the hospital during his visit. Noh-Varr certainly didn't seem surprised that Tommy's doctor had changed her mind about allowing the procedure. But Billy supposed that was the advantage to dating someone in a mutant gang. Things got done. As long as no one got hurt, Billy couldn't really even get upset about it.

They arrived at Noh-Varr's tiny apartment some time later, and Billy waited patiently to be let in before asking, “Is it alright if I bring the presents over now?”

Tommy looked thrilled by that idea, so Noh-Varr bullied Plex into lowering the anti-teleportation field. Billy privatly thought he could punch through it if he needed to, but he wans't going to tell Noh-Varr that, even though maybe he should.

Once the field was down, Billy teleported home easily, and then teleported all of Tommy's things back at once. Before his training with Simon, he would have had to be physically touching all the objects, and recite his intent out loud. Now he simply glanced around at everything waiting patiently in a pile in his room, and concentrated, reaching inside himself to the pool of untapped power in his core. A little twist of magic and he was back in Noh-Varr's apartment, surrounded by an assortment of packages. Tommy had been settled into the only actual chair in the place, his feet up on the footrest and the cat in his lap. Noh-Varr was perched on the arm of the chair, nuzzling his face into Tommy's hair. It was really adorable.

“I wasn't even gone for five minutes,” he complained.

Tommy sniggered and held his hands out greedily. “Give me presents.”

Billy snorted. “I thought you said you didn't want them?”

“I didn't. But now that I have them, I might as well open them, right?”

“I suppose you might as well,” Billy agreed, and handed Tommy the nearest one.

Now that Billy was back, Noh-Varr stiffened up, reverting to that awkward tolerance he'd had the last time Billy visited, like he didn't trust Billy in his space. Tommy opened about half of his presents before reaching up and running his hand down Noh-Varr's arm in a soothing manner.

“Calm down, babe. I want Billy to be here.”

And just like that, Noh-Varr relaxed accepting Billy because Tommy wants him to. They all cracked jokes about Tommy's gifts, and tried to decide which one of the Avengers got Tommy the 30 speed blender, but figured it was probably Thor, because it seemed like the perfect “human” present, gifted by an exceedingly wealthy but rather clueless Asguardian.

Billy found Noh-Varr surprising easy to get along with, now that he'd relaxed. The Kree was extremely smart, and had a blind sense of humor that suited him, and he clearly made Tommy deliriously happy. He and Teddy were going to have a talk, because it was obvious that this was going to be a very long term – probably lifelong relationship, and Billy didn't want one mind controlled incident to come between his brother and his lover. Noh-Varr might never get over the Skrull thing, but they should at least try.

After all Tommy's presents were opened and found various homes around the apartment, including the clean energy generator that would allow Tommy to use his TV and Xbox, and the myriad of other electronic devices he'd been gifted, Billy managed to communicate to Tommy with much eyebrow wiggling to get rid of Noh-Varr. So Tommy sent him on some pointless errand, and threatened Plex into keeping his collective mouths shut, before turning to Billy with an anxious expression,

“Did you bring it?”

“Of course,” Billy said, and pulled out the little box from his pocket.

“Kate is extremely jealous of your design skills, and wants you to help her start a jewelry line,” Billy says, handing over the boxes for Tommy's approval.

“Yeah, right. I'm not going to be her gay designer friend. She can find someone else.” His twin popped open the box and there was a little inhalation of breath.

“Billy, they're perfect.”

Billy smiled. One box contained Noh-Varr's engagement ring, which Tommy had designed. With a judicious use of magic and a little help from Bobby, Billy had turned Tommy's Kevlar into a thin, twisted engagement band, set with an emerald the color of Speed's uniforms, and Tommy's eyes. Tommy hadn't wanted a large stone, saying he'd never be able to pay them back, but Bobby had thrown a fit, and the gem they ended up with was enough to make Kate jealous.

The other box contained their wedding bands. Tommy had gotten hold of more of the bio metal his ring was made of, and Billy had fused the silver Kevlar and gold bio metal together into twisting wedding bands, tow colors twisting around each other in an infinite circle. Tommy actually looked like he might cry.

“Thank you, Billy. Seriously, you have no idea how much this means to me.”

“Promise me you'll be my best man, and we're even,” Billy said.

“Done. I'll wear a tux and pose nicely for pictures and everything.”

Billy made a horrified gasp, and clutched his hands to his chest like he was having a heart attack.

“Yeah, yeah, don't make a scene,” Tommy grumbled.

“Noh-Varr'll be back soon, and I know if I'm not home in the next twenty minutes Teddy will have a fit, so I'd better go.” 

“It was really good to see you Billy. Really. We should hangout more.”

“You've got my number – call me.”

“I will.”

“See you later Tommy.”

“Bye.”

Billy teleported away, secure in the knowledge that his twin was happier than he'd been in a long time. His cheerfulness was so infectious, in fact, that Billy swept into his apartment, kissed Teddy vigorously, and hauled him up to their bedroom where he proceeded to make his fiance exceedingly happy for the rest of the night. Life was good.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN RE-WRITTEN. The first half or so is mostly the same, but the last half has been completely re-written, so that I can end the fic properly in the next chapter.
> 
> There is sex with a transgender character in this chapter. If that bothers you for some reason, please skip it. Tommy *does* have a vagina, regardless of his gender, so if that triggers you, or you just don't want to read it, feel free to skip that part.
> 
> As always, love to my wonderful beta, DangerousCommieSubversive!!

Chapter 15

Monday, December 15th, 2015

“I have a surprise for you,” Noh-Varr declared, after his sixth cup of coffee that morning. 

Tommy looked up at him over the day-old newspaper he was reading, his brows arched incredulously. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes. We're going out. Right now. Put clothes on.”

“Uh. Okay. Sure, sure, I'm getting dressed right now.”

Tommy got up and handed Noh-Varr his paper cup, his plate, and the last bit of his bagel, and headed over to their plastic set of drawers to get ready. He pulled open the drawer and looked down at all the t-shirts he had to choose from. Once he'd gotten his stitches out, Noh-Varr had taken him shopping, and Tommy had bought half the men's department in shirts. Not having to wear a binder to have a flat chest was–liberating. And it also made getting dressed more of a chore. He had _choices_ now.

“So...what should I wear?” he asked.

“Those nice dark jeans you bought the other day, and that black shirt with the diagonal pinstripes that shows off your chest,” Noh-Varr replied immediately. “I like those.”

That was the outfit he'd been wearing when he'd given Noh-Varr head in the changing room. “You're biased.”

“So?”

“So wear one of the shirts I bought you, instead of your thug clothes.”

“Alright,” Noh-Varr agreed, and then his fiancee was stripping right in front of him, and Tommy couldn't help but stare at the expanse of bare, muscled back Noh-Varr was showing off.

Then the Kree was pulling on one of the three-quarter sleeved sweaters Tommy had bought for him. The fabric was ridiculously soft, and Tommy liked cuddling up against Noh-Varr in it, not that he'd ever admit that to anyone. It fit him perfectly, conforming to Noh-Varr's muscles and really showing him off. Tommy _liked_ showing Noh-Varr off. And he looked very good in that shirt–the cream made his broad chest look even broader, and the blue sleeves brought out his eyes. Add to that the fact that he was wearing the sculpted designer jeans Tommy had picked out instead of his baggy old ones, and Tommy didn't think they were actually going to get out of the house at all today.

“You look – wow. Yeah. Yeah, I remember why we bought those clothes.” Tommy swallowed.

“They certainly seem to have an effect on you,” Noh-Varr agreed, coming up to him and leaning in close, pressing a kiss to Tommy's open mouth. “Do you need help getting dressed?”

“No! No, I'm okay.” Because if Noh-Varr 'helped' him they'd really never leave.

He hurried to get dressed, and then followed Noh-Varr out of their apartment and down onto the street. “So...where are we going?”

“It's a surprise,” Noh-Varr said again. A sleek black car drove up, and Noh-Varr held the back seat door open for him.

“Uh...okay.”

He got in and slid over, and Noh-Varr sat down next to him. Noh-Varr's grin was radiant, so Tommy tried not to protest the treatment too much. He arched a brow at Iscrit, who was in the driver's seat. There was actually a space in the driver's seat for him to put his wings through, and they were fanned out slightly across the space between the front and the back. Tommy made sure not to tread on any of his feathers as he shifted slightly nervously.

“Hey Red. Uh. This isn't a gang thing, is it?”

“No.” The Skrull grinned at him. “You'll see.”

And that was as far into the interrogation as he got, because Noh-Varr was determined to distract him. They made out the entire way to their destination, even though Tommy couldn't have exactly said how long that was. He just knew he'd been right about Noh-Varr wearing that sweater, and that by the time the car stopped, he'd straddled Noh-Varr's hips and had his chest pressed up against Noh-Varr's, and there were at least six hickey's on his fiance's neck.

Iscrit had to clear his throat a couple of times before Tommy really heard him. “Oh.” He pulled back from Noh-Varr's lips with some difficulty. “Are we here?”

“Yes. You can get out now.” The Skrull was obviously holding back a snicker.

“Yeah. Right. Sure.” It was times like this that Tommy was glad he didn't have to adjust his raging boner. One of the few advantages to his mis-matched anatomy. He scrambled out of the car, wiping his hands against his jeans and straightening his clothes and hair.

Noh-Varr didn't bother with any of that. He looked like sex, and he knew it, and didn't care. He nodded at Iscrit like that was supposed to mean something, and the Skrull drove off. Noh-Varr just smiled at Tommy and held out his hand.

“Come on. He'll be back for us later, if we want.”

“Uh. Okay.” Tommy still had no idea what they were doing, especially here in such a nice neighborhood, but he took Noh-Varr's hand and followed him up the sidewalk.

Noh-Varr took his hand excitedly and led him up the sidewalk to a two-story building that had a For Sale sign posted out front.

“What are you -” Tommy started, and the stopped when Noh-Varr pulled out a key from his pocket.

“I haven't bought it yet – I wanted your opinion first,” he said.

“Bought – you – I mean – but!” Tommy couldn't even speak properly.

Noh-Varr opened the door and led Tommy inside. He gestured to the square, open first floor and said, “The building is between a commercial and a residential zone – there are lots of shops and boutiques around, and I'm thinking of renovating this floor and opening an art gallery. There are a lot of young mutants and aliens who'd never get the chance to share or sell their art, and Raquel's got more then enough business-minded people who could run the place, so all we'd really be is the owners. And then later, if we wanted to do something else with the space, we could.”

He led Tommy through the first floor and up a spiraling staircase in the back that led to a nice landing on the second floor and a second door. He pulled out another key for that door, and it opened into a beautiful apartment. It was unfurnished and clearly in the middle of renovations, but the underlying structure was sound. The living room had a hardwood floor that had been stripped and freshly re-waxed, with an old-fashioned stone fireplace set into one wall and large widows set into the other, with a great view of the water. From the doorway, he could see the kitchen, which looked almost finished – new, dark wood counter tops and matching cabinets above new appliances. The wall had been stripped, and there was a decorative mosaic tile about half finished on the wall, with supplies sitting on the island counter in the middle of the room. A hallway led away towards what were probably bedrooms, and maybe a study, depending on how large the space was. Tommy didn't know what to say.

“Do you like it? I've been renovating it; Raquel bought the place about six months back, and since you accepted my ring I've been getting it fixed up. I hoped you'd like it, but if you don't we can look for something else, and there's plenty of room for improvement if you want to change anything and -”

Tommy shut him up with a fierce kiss, his arms wrapping around Noh-Varr and actually lifting him up into the air for a hug. “It's amazing. You're amazing.”

“It's still not done – I've got to soundproof the walls more and upgrade the electrical and security systems and get Plex's mainframe switched over -”

“I don't care. It's wonderful. No one's ever done anything like this for me before, Noh.”

Noh-Varr's smile lit up the room. “You really like it? I didn't know if it was too fancy for you . I know you don't like me spending money on you but...”

“You found us a _home,_ Noh-Varr. It's beautiful. You'll let me help with the rest of the renovations, right? I paint really well, and I'm pretty good with power tools. And I have an enormous Skrull brother-in-law that we could totally force to do the heavy lifting and remove any walls we want taken out. And a magical brother. That’s always useful for renovating a house.”

“I'll finalize the sale first thing in the morning.”

Tommy fingered the small box he'd been keeping in his pockets for the last three weeks. He exhaled slowly, and pulled it out of his pocket. “Noh-Varr?” he asked, refusing to acknowledge how shaky his voice was. “ <Would you allow me to be your _hala?_ >”

Noh-Varr's eyes grew wide when Tommy opened the box and showed him the ring. “<I would.>” He barely got the ritual wording out, his hand already held out for Tommy to slip on his ring, trembling slightly. “<I have wanted to be your _hala_ since the day I met you. >”

Tommy was in a bit of a shock of his own at that announcement, but he managed to get the ring out of the box and onto Noh-Varr's finger. For all that he claimed not to understand Earth culture, his alien was a closet romantic. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Noh-Varr said, before he kissed him, slow and heavy and passionate.

They ended up having sex right there on their new floor, and all the stress and anxiety Tommy had about how he thought this day might go sort of melted away. He gripped Noh-Varr's hips and pulled them closer, climbing right up into Noh-Varr's lap because he liked it that way. He liked being surrounded by Noh-Varr's hard, masculine body, smelling his strong, slightly _alien_ scent, and tasting the slightly tangy aftertaste of his nanites. Noh-Varr was alien, but he was _his_ , and Tommy liked being reminded of that, sometimes.

Noh-Varr's hand slipped up underneath Tommy's shirt, and Tommy groaned. Ever since he'd gotten surgery, he was _all about_ Noh-Varr's hands on his chest, or getting naked and pressing their bodies together. It just felt so damn good. Tommy's mouth moved to Noh-Varr's neck, making Noh-Varr groan in that deep, vibrating way he had that set all of Tommy's nerves on fire. 

Then Noh-Varr was tugging his shirt off, and Tommy's hands pulled Noh-Varr's off moments after, and then he shifted his weight and pushed Noh-Varr backward onto the hardwood, which would have been more challenging if they weren't already partially naked and sweaty, their efforts keeping them grounded instead of sliding across it.

“Fuck, I love you.”

“ <You are so beautiful.>”

And Tommy knew that his head was ready. “I want – everything. Your mouth, your dick, I don't care. I just. Want.”

“<You->” And Noh-Varr was struggling to sit up, so Tommy let Noh-Varr prop himself up on his elbows so that he could cool down for a moment and regain his grasp on English. Tommy didn't think his mastery of Kree was sufficient for this.

“You want me to...I can give you head?”

Tommy had never let anyone put there mouth on him down there, ever. He barely even let Noh-Varr finger him, his dysphoria was so bad. And it wasn't like it had suddenly gone away, though it had been lessening the more he was on T, and since he'd gotten his stitches out. It was just – this was it, this was who he wanted to spend his life with. Noh-Varr loved him in this body, so he shouldn't have to wait until Tommy got everything just perfect in order to make love to him. He hadn't been ready before but. He was, now.

“Yeah. I trust you.”

Noh-Varr just looked at him for a moment, his mouth working, like he couldn't figure out how to translate what he wanted to say. Finally he just shook his head slightly and said, “There aren't – words. I-I love you.”

He took it slow, for which Tommy was extremely grateful. They kissed for a while, exploring each other's mouths while Noh-Varr worked his hands lower towards Tommy's hips. Noh-Varr's erection was hard against his pelvis and Tommy rubbed against him, unashamed. Noh-Varr had excellent control; Tommy could rub against him till he came and Noh-Varr wouldn't come or lose his erection. The Kree was quite proud of his ability, and it made for some of the best sex Tommy'd ever had.

Speaking of which, Noh-Varr was gently but firmly unbuttoning Tommy's pants with one hand, his other on Tommy's lower back and his tongue practically down Tommy's throat. Tommy groaned and helped Noh-Varr shimmy him out of his pants, before breaking their kiss and pulling off Noh-Varr's pants too. At that point, it was too much of a temptation to bury his face in Noh-Varr's crotch, so he did, mouthing at Noh-Varr's cock through his briefs and breathed in the sharp, tangy scent of Noh-Varr's arousal.

Noh-Varr's hands tightened on his hips and he said something in Kree that Tommy was a little too sidetracked to translate. He could tell from Noh-Varr's gentle tugging what he wanted though, so Tommy let them switch places, leaning back against the floor with Noh-Varr's warm weight on top of him. Noh-Varr muttered things at him in Kree as he kissed his way down Tommy's body, stopping to lave at the small tuft of hair near his bellybutton before putting one hand under the elastic of his underwear.

His lover looked up at him, his eyes asking permission. “<Are you certain?>”

“Yeah,” but it came out as a squeak, so he cleared his throat and said, “Yes.”

Noh-Varr pulled his underwear off and...well the only word for what he did was _worship._ “Oh my god. Oh, _fuck_.”

He was still having a little dysphoria, just because he knew that wasn't a dick down there, but he really hadn't thought it would feel this good. He masturbated sometimes, and it was good, but it wasn't _anything_ like this. If he put his hands on Noh-Varr's head and tightened his fingers in his hair, and closed his eyes and just _enjoyed_ it. Yeah. Fuck yes. Noh-Varr was giving him head and it was – fuck.

Noh-Varr was clearly enjoying himself. He kept making these vibrating noises of pleasure, right on Tommy's clit, and he was _so_ doing it on purpose but Tommy couldn't bring himself to complain because it felt amazing. He lost track of time, just drowning in the pleasure and the fact that Noh-Varr was enjoying himself so much.

After a while, Noh-Varr propped himself up with one hand, reached down his pant with the other, and started jacking himself off, his mouth never leaving Tommy. It was actually...really fucking sexy. Noh-Varr actually came first, and the vibrations from his long moan brought Tommy over the edge. Tommy's hands spasmed, and he probably yanked out some of Noh-Varr's hair, but the Kree didn't seem to mind.

The smile Noh-Varr gave him after was dazzling. Tommy had never been this crazy in love before, and he didn't think he'd ever be again – Noh-Varr was the one. Really, really the one, like some cheesy romantic chick flick, and Tommy didn't even care, because Noh-Varr was his in a way that humans could only sort of grasp at, and he fell asleep in his lover's arms afterwords, more whole and healed and _himself_ then he'd been in a very long time.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is the end! I'm glad to say I'm finally in a place where I could give Tommy a happy ending and live with it, personally. I hope you've all enjoyed this fic as much as I have!
> 
> Thanks as always to DangerousCommieSubversive, who beta'd this, and fixed some of Simon's dialogue. :3
> 
> Notes at the end about the ending.

Epilogue

Billy was woken far _far_ too early for the first day of his honeymoon by the shrill shrieking of the bedside phone. He groaned, and pulled his pillow over his head, hoping it'd stop. They certainly hadn't ordered a wake up call. Teddy, always a heavier sleeper, muttered something angrily under his breath, and stirred slightly beside him, but went right back to sleep when it stopped.

The peace didn't last. Less than thirty seconds after the ringing stopped, it started again. Billy felt like shrieking himself. Finally he picked up the phone and snarled, _“What?!”_ into it. “If someone is trying to call us into duty I swear to _God--_ ”

“Will you shut up for two seconds?!” Tommy's angry, terrified voice came through the line. “I'm having a fucking crisis here!!!”

“Tommy? What's going on? Are you alright?”

“I am _not_ alright, Kaplan. Kaplan-Altman. Altman. Ugh, whatever! Tell me what you did.”

“What I did? Tommy I am not telling you what we did last night.”

“What? Eeeeewwwww. No! God. What did you do, with your freaky magic powers? Whatthehelldidyoudotomeyoubigassholeyoucan'tjustdropthismagicshitonme!!!!!!”

“What?? Tommy I can't understand you.”

All that was coming through the line now was a faster and faster panicking babble. Finally Noh-Varr took the phone from Tommy and said,“He wants to know why you altered his genitalia.”

“Why I _what_?! I can't do that!”

There was a pause. “Are you...certain? Because I have looked, and he is _very_ male, now. He even said that he is concerned that he might have _your_ -”

“Don'tfuckingtellhimthatyouutterutterasshole!!”

“Um. He is upset.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I got that. Look, Noh-Varr, my powers don't do that. Changing someone's body like that, especially without their consent, that's big magic. Huge. Like, god level and – oh. Shit. Look, I'll call you back, okay? Just...tell Tommy not to panic, and enjoy it, if he can. Because I think it might be a um. Gift.”

“I do not understand.”

“Right. Yeah.” Billy sighed. Noh-Varr's grammar always got extremely formal when he was upset, because he was trying to hold on to his English at all. And Tommy was buzzing with rage in the background, which Billy could totally understand, if he woke up at...whatever time it was in New York, and had a dick, all of a sudden. Yeah. Oh man.

“I'll call you back. Promise. Soon as I know anything.

“...okay.” Noh-Varr hung up.

“Babe? What's going on?” Teddy's sleepy voice came from beside him.

“Nothing, babe. Nothing you can help with, anyways. Go back to sleep.”

“Suppos' ta be on our honeymoon...” Teddy mumbled sleepily, curling up into Billy's side and putting his head in Billy's lap, before he was out again, snoring lightly. 

Billy wished he could go to sleep now, instead of calling his mentor about possibly gifting his brother with a dick. Yeah. This should be fun.

Simon picked up on the third ring. “Hey kiddo, what's going on? I'm in the middle of a lecture. Aren't you supposed to be on your honeymoon?”

“Yeah. Yeah I am. I'm sorry I interrupted your lecture I just. Really need to talk to you.”

“Of course, kiddo. I set the students to some rote exercises, we've got a bit to talk. What's on your mind?”

“Um. Well, I don't really know how to ask this, and it's really early in the morning for me so...I'm just going to ask. Did Loki give Tommy a dick?”

Simon was silent for a moment. Then, “Ah. Right. That.”

Billy felt himself getting slightly annoyed at his mentor. “Yes. Yes that. Tommy just called me. He's freaking out, Simon. What did you expect? He's not _like_ us. Magic kind of terrifies him, to be honest.”

“Well I thought...I know how hard it is on him, not feeling like he's in the right body. And you said he was going to go in for surgery soon, and kept talking about all the horrible ways it could go wrong. You _worry_ about him, Billy, and I thought that it would be nice if we could...alleviate that worry. I talked Loki into it. It was our wedding present to you.”

Billy let out a sharp breath. “A wedding present? But -” He _had_ been stressing out about Tommy's surgery a lot. Bottom surgery had a frightening amount of potential side effects and ways it could go wrong, and even after a very expensive, dangerous, and difficult surgery, Tommy still wouldn't be biologically male; not the way that Loki had made him. Once Tommy got used to it, and knew it wasn't going to go away, he might even be – grateful. Billy felt like a shit for complaining about it, actually.

“So...it's not going to be reversed? He'll get to keep his male parts, forever?”

“Of course, Tommy. I wouldn't give him something like that and take it away. Even Loki wouldn't do that to your someone, especially your brother. I mean, not unless they seriously pissed him off, but honestly he'd be more likely to just kill them and get it over with.”

“I'll have to call and tell him then. I think that'll help. I'm sorry, Simon. I appreciate it, I really do. It's just. A big surprise.”

“I understand, Billy. Take care of yourself, alright?”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay. Bye Simon.”

Billy hung up and sighed. Now he had to call and explain everything to Tommy. This was _not_ how he'd wanted to spend his honeymoon.

xxx

Tommy hung up the phone and stared at Noh-Varr, more than a little shell shocked. “So...it's mine to keep, apparently. Loki's wedding present to Billy.”

Noh-Varr's eyebrows disappeared under his hairline. “Is that a normal thing for humans to receive as wedding presents?”

“Definitely not. But this means...” He looked down at himself, at the anatomy he still couldn't quite believe that he had.

“We are giving some of your disgusting amount of money to the Church of Loki, and we are _never_ , _ever_ telling Billy about it. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“And now I am going to fuck you on every surface of this house with my new dick.”

And he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I realize that in our world, transgender people do not have the option of having a chaos god give them new anatomy. For all of us who transition, there are different paths we take. Some decide not to have surgery at all. Some go for top surgery, and are perfectly happy that way. Others get bottom surgery, or seek out other ways to complete their gender presentation. Personally, I've decided not to undergo surgery at this moment, but I have the utmost respect for anyone who has chosen that path.
> 
> That being said, this *is* a work of fanfiction, and Tommy does have a reality altering witch for a brother. I believe that this is an acceptable ending for him, in the Marvel Universe. It is not my intention to belittle or hurt anyone who has gone, is going, or wants to go through a transition of their own, and I hope that you will enjoy this ending in the spirit it was written.
> 
> Thank you everyone, for reading this fic!! It's been a pleasure.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this chapter, feel free to leave me a note! It really encourages me to keep writing. :3


End file.
